LIBRARY 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA. 


Class 


Ir      f\w. 


NATURE  STUDY  AND 
LIFE 


BY 


CLIFTON   F.   HODGE,  PH.D. 

Assistant  Professor  in  Clark  University.     Member  of:  The  American  Physiological 
Society,  Society  of  A  merican  Naturalists,  Massachusetts  Forestry  Association, 
American  Forestry  Association,  Board  of  Directors  of  the  Massa- 
chusetts A  udubon  Society,  A  merican  Ornithologists'  Union 


Hifc  is  response  to  tbe  order  of  iftature 

W.  K.  BROOKS 


BOSTON,  U.S.A.,  AND  LONDON 
GINN   &   COMPANY,    PUBLISHERS 

Cbc  &tben«rtim 
1902 


PREFACE 

THE  field  which  this  book  essays  to  enter  has  ever 
spread  out  before  me  like  an  enchanted  country.  The 
possibilities  and  resources  of  life,  dissolving  in  changes 
forever  fresh  and  new,  the  infinite  variety  of  mechanism, 
device,  and  story,  the  display  of  beauty  on  every  side  that 
baffles  expression  by  pen  or  brush,  have  always  seemed  to 
me  the  natural  matrix  for  the  highest  development  of  the 
child's  mind  and  soul.  QVe  are  beginning  to  use  fruitfully 
in  our  education  the  legends  and  myths  of  the  past,  but  the 
fundamental  conceptions  of  these  lie  in  the  life  and  nature 
about  us.  /All  this  is  the  work  of  the  Infinite  Enchanter 
of  the  Universe,  and  forms  a  realm  of  real  magic,  of  which 
human  myth  and  fairy  tale  are  after  all  but  the  passing 
shadow.  This  was  the  world  of  keenest  interests,  delights, 
and  sufferings  of  my  boyhood,  the  common  ground  out  of 
which  my  interests  in  special  problems  of  science  have 
grown,  the  world  to  which  I  instinctively  turn  from  the 
fatigue  and  technicality  of  special  work  for  rejuvenation 
and  refreshment  and  find  that  its  delights  do  not  grow  old. 

The  more  I  study  the  problem,  the  more  it  seems  to  me 
that  this  side  of  nature  is  the  sheet  anchor  of  elementary 
education,  all  the  more  necessary  as  modern  life  tends  to 
drift  away  from  nature  into  artificialities  of  every  sort. 
Recent  developments  of  the  sciences  have  completely  daz- 
zled our  modern  education  with  their  bewildering  array 


viii  PREFACE 

of  newly  discovered  facts,  and  the  temptation  has  proved 
irresistible  to  introduce  their  technicalities  into  the  ele- 
mentary curriculum.  But  the  childhood  of  the  race  was 
very  long,  and  we  should  not  wish  to  force  its  period,  brief 
at  best,  in  the  life  of  the  individual.  The  weathering  of 
rock  and  the  formation  of  soil  afford  interesting  lessons 
in  modern  geology ;  but  men  dug  and  planted,  and  estab- 
lished fruitful  relations  with  Mother  Earth  thousands  of 
years  before  geology  was  even  dreamed  of.  So  with  com- 
bustion and  the  various  forms  of  water :  why  not  let  chil- 
dren wonder  about  them  for  a  few  years,  and  then  come 
with  interest  keen  and  fresh  to  their  study  in  the  chem- 
istry and  physics  of  the  high  school  or  the  college  ?  By 
leaving  out  everything  else,  however,  I  do  not  wish  to 
insinuate  that  the  study  of  living  things  is  all  of  nature 
study..  But  other  sides  of  nature  are  so  fully  represented 
in  plans  for  nature-study  courses  now  before  the  public, 
—  I  am  tempted  to  say  so  much  too  fully  represented  — 
that  my  conscience  is  perfectly  clear  in  leaving  them  to 
shift  for  themselves. 

Many  recent  books  presenting  courses  of  nature  study 
have  divided  the  lessons  according  to  the  seasons  and 
terms  of  the  school  year.  This  form  is  doubtless  of  serv- 
ice to  some  teachers.  I  have  not  been  able  to  adopt 
it,  however,  for  two  reasons  :  Nature's  changes  were  not 
arranged  according  to  our  school  courses,  and  the  pre- 
dominant importance  of  subject-matter  precludes  such 
cramped  and  formal  treatment  ;^my  purpose  is  to  bring 
nature  into  relation  to  child  life  rather  than  to  school  life, 
to  make  it  a  continuous  source  of  delight,  profit,  and 
highest  education  rather  than  a  formal  school  task.  I 


PREFACE  ix 

have  sought  to  obviate  this  difficulty  in  arrangement  by 
a  somewhat  detailed  grade  plan  in  which  topics  are  sug- 
gested for  the  grade  best  adapted  for  their  pursuit.  A 
full  cross-reference  index  will  also  assist  in  a  similar  way. 
(The  illustrations  have  been  selected  to  express  the 
relation  of  man,  especially  the  relation  of  the  child,  to 
nature;  and  since  spontaneous  activity  is  fundamental 
to  my  plan  of  nature  study,  the  majority  of  them  are 
intended  to  suggest  ways  and  means  of  doing  something/^ 
To  those  who  have  contributed  pictures,  notably  Charles 
Irving  Rice,  J.  Chauncey  Lyford,  Myron  W.  Stickney, 
Charles  L.  Goodrich,  The  National  Cash  Register  Com- 
pany, Henry  Lincoln  Clapp,  M.  V.  Slingerland,  Miss 
Katherine  E.  Dolbear,  and  Miss  Jessie  G.  Whiting,  I  wish 
to  express  my  sincere  thanks.  Acknowledgment  usually 
accompanies  the  illustration,  but  the  picture  of  a  deer  in 
the  velvet  (p.  15)  should  be  accredited  to  Mr.  Rice.  The 
photograph  of  the  mosquitoes  (p.  89)  and  the  portrait  of 
a  young  wood  thrush  (p.  345)  are  by  Mr.  Stickney. 
Figs.  121,  123,  125,  131,  and  135,  together  with  most 
of  the  data  from  which  the  bird-food  chart  (p.  323) 
was  constructed,  are  contributed  by  Miss  Helen  A.  Ball. 
The  other  line  drawings,  with  exception  of  20  ^22,  25, 
35  b,  71,  160,  161,  178,  193,  194,  195,  were  made  under 
my  direction  by  Mrs.  Helen  Davis  Burgess.  The  photo- 
graphs not  otherwise  accredited  are  by  the  author. 

This  book  could  never  have  been  written,  in  anything 
like  its  present  form  at  least,  until  its  various  suggestions 
had  been  given  the  test  of  actual  school  work.  Miss 
Mary  C.  Henry,  principal  of  the  Upsala  Street  School  of 
Worcester,  Mass.,  has  not  only  done  this,  but  in  addition 


X  PREFACE 

has  contributed  many  and  valuable  suggestions,  notably 
with  reference  to  the  grade  plan,  to  the  school  garden,  and 
to  the  problem  of  cleanliness  of  the  schoolroom.  Thus  to 
Miss  Henry  and  the  teachers  in  the  Upsala  Street  School 
the  book  owes  much  of  its  definite  character.  To  Pro- 
fessor Brooks,  of  the  Johns  Hopkins  University,  I  am 
also  under  obligations  for  counsel  as  to  the  general  plan 
of  the  work.  For  help  in  final  revision  of  the  text  and 
proofs  and  preparation  of  the  illustrations  I  am  under 
great  obligations  to  Mr.  Lyford,  and  for  assistance  with 
the  proof  I  wish  to  express  my  indebtedness  to  Miss 
Henry,  Miss  Dolbear,  and  Mr.  Stickney. 

Finally,  I  acknowledge  my  debt  to  Clark  University  for 
opportunity,  and  to  Dr.  G.  Stanley  Hall  for  suggestions 
which  called  my  attention  to  nature  study.  The  further 
I  went,  the  more  it  seemed  to  me  that  the  sources  from 
which  must  flow  the  future  development  of  science  in 
this  country  all  lie  in  the  quality  of  the  work  done. in  the 
public  schools.  In  freshness,  in  lively  interest,  in  origi- 
nality, nothing  equals  a  child ;  and  it  has  long  been  con- 
ceded that  at  no  time  is  progress  in  learning  so  rapid  as 
during  the  first  three  or  four  years  of  life.  The  secret 
of  this,  it  has  seemed  to  me,  lies  in  the  fact  that  touch 
with  nature  at  first  hand,  original  research,  if  you  please, 
is  the  very  breath  of  mental  life.  How  may  this  splendid 
growth  process  of  infancy  be  prolonged  through  life  ?  The 
best  answer  to  the  question  that  I  am  at  present  able 
to  offer  is  the  book  itself. 

C.  F.  HODGE. 

R,  MASS., 
January  21,  1902 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 

INTRODUCTION  BY  DR.  G.  STANLEY  HALL         .        .         .  xiii 

CHAPTER 

I.     THE  POINT  OF  VIEW i 

II.     VALUES  OF  NATURE  STUDY          .         .         .         .  17 

III.  CHILDREN'S  ANIMALS  AND  PETS       ...  33 

IV.  PLAN  FOR  INSECT  STUDY 45 

V.     INSECTS  OF  THE  HOUSEHOLD    ....  62 

VI.     LESSONS  WITH  PLANTS 91 

VII.     ELEMENTARY  BOTANY        .        .                 .         .  102 
VIII.     GARDEN  STUDIES,  —  HOME  AND  SCHOOL  GARDENS  121 
IX.     NATURE-STUDY  PROPERTY  OF  CHILDREN          .  139 
X.     NATURE-STUDY    PROPERTY    (Continued},  —  GAR- 
DEN FRUITS 147 

XL     PROPAGATION  OF  PLANTS           .         .         .         .  155 

XII.     INSECTS  OF  THE  GARDEN 181 

XIII.  GARDEN  INSECTS  (Continued}           .         .         .  202 

XIV.  BENEFICIAL  INSECTS,  —  THE  HONEYBEE       .         .  228 
XV.     INSECTS  BENEFICIAL  AND  BEAUTIFUL       .         .  246 

XVI.     INSECTIVOROUS  ANIMALS, — THE  COMMON  TOAD  .  274 

XVII.     COMMON  FROGS  AND  SALAMANDERS         .         .  295 

XVIII.     OUR  COMMON  BIRDS 305 

XIX.     THE  BIRD  CENSUS  AND  FOOD  CHART      .         .  319 
XX.     PRACTICAL    DOMESTICATION    OF    OUR    WILD 

....                 ....  327 


Xll 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  PAGE 

XXI.     TAMING  AND  FEEDING  BIRDS     .        .        .        .  347 

XXII.     ELEMENTARY  FORESTRY          .         .        .        .  365 

XXIII.  ELEMENTARY  FORESTRY  (Continued}         .      t  .*  379 

XXIV.  AQUARIA, — THEIR  CONSTRUCTION  AND  MAN- 

AGEMENT .         .         .         ...         .      \.  393 

XXV.     MISCELLANEOUS  ANIMALS       .        .        .  405 

XXVI.     FLOWERLESS  PLANTS.        .        .        .       '.  •      .'  435 

XXVII.     FLOWERLESS    PLANTS    (Continued},  —  MOULDS, 

MILDEWS,  YEAST,  BACTERIA      .         .  ,     .  457 

XXVIII.     THE  GRADE  PLAN                                >                 .  478 


INDEX 


497 


INTRODUCTION 

FOR  this  book  I  have  no  hesitation  in  predicting  a  most 
wholesome,  widespread,  and  immediate  influence  upon 
primary  and  grammar  school  grades  of  education  in  this 
country.  (No  one  has  gone  so  far  toward  solving  the  burn- 
ing question  of  nature  teaching,  and  to  every  instructor 
in  these  subjects  this  volume  will  be  not  only  instructive 
but  inspiring. 

Unlike  the  authors  of  most  of  the  many  nature-study 
manuals  now  current,  Professor  Hodge  has  been  for  some 
years  the  head  of  a  University  Department,  is  a  specialist 
in  two  or  more  of  the  fields  of  biology,  and  has  made  original 
contributions  of  value  to  the  sum  of  human  knowledge. 
His  mind  thus  moves  with  independence,  authority,  and 
unusual  command  of  the  resources  in  the  field  here  treated. 

New  as  his  method  essentially  is,  it  is  now  made  public 
only  after  years  of  careful  trial  in  the  public  school  grades 
in  Worcester,  until  its  success  and  effective  working  jn 
detail  is  well  assured.  Thus  it  has  passed  the  stage  of 
experiment  and  is  so  matured  and  approved  that,  with 
slight  local  adjust'ments,  it  can  be  applied  almost  any- 
where for  children  of  from  six  or  seven  to  thirteen  or 
fourteen  years  of  age. 

I  have  also  observed  the  growing  appreciation  with 
which  this  matter  and  method  have  been  received  by  the 
representative  teachers  from  nearly  every  state  in  the 


xiv  INTRODUCTION 

Union  in  the  successive  sessions  of  our  Summer  School, 
in  which  approval  has  grown  to  deep  interest  and  hearty 
enthusiasm. 

Although  the  author  has  striven  to  secure  the  best 
results  sought  by  other  nature  books,  this  differs  not  only 
in  all  respects  from  some,  but  in  some  respects  from  all, 
and  chiefly  as  follows  : 

It  contains  a  richer  and  more  varied  subject-matter. 
Instead  of  elaborate  methods  applied  to  a  few  species,  it 
presents  the  essential  and  salient  points  about  many  and 
thus  avoids  the  current  fault  of  over-elaborate  and  over- 
methodic  treatment,  prolonged  till  interest  turns  to  ennui. 
f  Another  principle  solidly  established  and  here  utilized, 
is  that  interest  in  life  forms  precedes  that  in  inanimate 
nature  for  children  of  the  age  here  in  view. }  Rock  forms, 
crystals,  stars,  weather,  and  seasons  are  all  interesting, 
but  have  their  nascent  period  later,  and  at  this  stage  pale 
before  the  deep,  instinctive  love  of  pets  and  the  fauna 
and  flora  of  the  immediate  environment. 

Again,  the  principle  of  utility  is  here  often  invoked  in 
a  new  field,  and  in  a  way  calculated  to  advance  one  of  the 
chief  objects  of  modern  pedagogic  endeavor  —  an  increas- 
ing unity  and  solidarity  between  the  school  and  the  home. 
The  new  use  of  this  motive  is  distinctly  national  and  sure 
to  appeal  to  the  practical  spirit  of  this  country. 

The  author  is  a  born  naturalist,  and  his  love  of  nature 
and  children,  which  is  infectious,  is  not  less  but  more 
because  he  does  not  forget  nature's  uses  to  man.  Believ- 
ing profoundly,  as  I  do,  in  the  poetic,  sentimental,  and 
religious  appeal  which  nature  makes  to  the  soul,(jt  is 
plain  that  for  some  years  preceding  adolescence  the 


INTRODUCTION  xv 

normal  child  can  be  appealed  to  on  the  practical,  unsenti- 
mental, and  utilitarian  side  of  his  nature.  ) 

Once  more,  this  work  is  opportune  because  it  stimu- 
lates spontaneous,  out-of-door  interests.  It  is  with  abun- 
dant reason  that  we  find  now  on  every  hand  a  growing 
fear  of  the  effects  of  excessive  confinement,  sedentary 
attitudes,  and  institutionalizing  influences  in  the  school. 
Such  work  as  is  here  described  must  tend  to  salutary 
progress  in  the  direction  of  health. 

Lastly,  many  modern  nature  books  suffer  from  what 
might  be  called  effeminization.  This  is  a  book  written 
by  a  man  and  appeals  to  boys  and  girls  equally. 

The  time  has  now  happily  passed  when  it  is  necessary 
to  urge  the  importance  of  the  love  and  study  of  nature, 
or  to  show  how  from  it  have  sprung  love  of  art,  science, 
and  religion,  or  how  in  the  ideal  school  it  will  have  a  cen- 
tral place,  slowly  subordinating  most  other  branches  of 
study  as  formal  and  accessory,  while  it  remains  substan- 
tial. To  know  nature  and  man  is  the  sum  of  earthly 
knowledge. 

G.    STANLEY    HALL. 
WORCESTER,  MASS.,  Dec.  3,  1901. 


I  shall  try  to  show  that  life  is  response  to  the  order  of  nature.  .  .  . 
Our  interest  in  all  branches  of  science  is  vital  interest.  It  is  only  as  living 
things  that  we  care  to  know.  Life  is  that  which,  when  joined  to  mind, 
is  knowledge,  —  knowledge  in  use ;  and  we  may  be  sure  that  all  living 
things  with  minds  like  ours  are  conscious  of  some  part  of  the  order 
of  nature,  for  the  response  in  which  life  consists  is  response  to  this  order. 
—  W.  K.  BROOKS. 

To  learn  what  is  true  in  order  to  do  what  is  right  is  the  summing  up 
of  the  whole  duty  of  man,  for  all  who  are  not  able  to  satisfy  their  mental 
hunger  with  the  east  wind  of  authority. —  T.  H.  HUXLEY. 

(  Nature  study  is  learning  those  things  in  nature  th  ?  best  worth 

knowing,  to  the  end  of  doing  those  things  that  make  life  most  worth  the 
living.    x 


NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 


CHAPTER  I 

THE   POINT   OF   VIEW 

And  God  blessed  them,  and  said  unto  them,  be  fruitful,  and  multiply, 
and  replenish  the  earth,  and  subdue  it:  and  have  dominion  over  the  fish  of 
the  sea,  and  over  the  fowl  of  the  air,  and  over  every  living  thing  that 
moveth  upon  the  earth. 

And  God  said,  Behold,  I  have  given  you  every  herb  bearing  seed, 
which  is  upon  the  face  of  all  the  earth,  and  every  tree,  in  the  which  is  the 
fruit  of  a  tree  yielding  seed  ;  to  you  it  shall  be  for  meat. 

And  the  Lord  God  took  the  man,  and  put  him  in  the  garden  of  Eden 
to  dress  it  and  to  keep  it. 

Aims  a.  nrposes  of  a  Nature-Study  Course.  —(The  heart  of 
education,  as  of  life  itself,  is  purpose.  Through  the  maze 
of  infinite  variety  in  form  and  structure  and  action  that 
nature  presents  to  the  student  on  every  side,  (the  only 
thing  that  can  hold  him  to  definite  lines  with  patience, 
persistence,  and  continuity  enough  to  make  his  work 
amount  to  something  is  purpose.  Hence,  in  order  to 
select  intelligently  the  materials  for  a  successful  course, 
we  need  at  every  step  to  have  the  purpose  of  nature  study 
clearly  before  us. 

This  may  be  expressed  in  a  brief  formula,  as  :  Learning 
those  tilings  in  nature  that  are  best  worth  knowing,  to  the 
end  of  doing  those  things  that  make  life  most  worth  living. 


2  NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 

What  things  are  best  worth  knowing  is  indicated  in  a 
fundamental  way  by  the  relations  toward  nature  that  the 
!  human  race  has  found  necessary  and  valuable  to  develop  ; 
and  nowhere  in  literature  are  these  relations  expressed 
with  such  force,  beauty,  and  high  authority  as  in  the 
words  at  the  heading  of  this  chapter.  The  fundamental 
relations  to  nature  of  the  race,  the  individual,  and  the 
child  have  been  more  fully  discussed  elsewhere,1  and  it  is 
necessary  only  to  summarize  them  here  briefly  as  follows  : 

Of  first  importance  is  the  fact  that  man's  primitive 
relations  to  nature  are  mainly  biological  —  relations  to 
animal  and  plant  life. 

Subjugation  of  Animals.  --  Development  of  these  rela- 
tions followed  the  order  of  logical  necessity.  Subjection/ 
must  come  first  if  man  is  to  live  in  safety  on  the 
earth.  This  great  process  of  subjugation,  this  hand- 
to-hand  fight  against  nature,  must  have  constituted  the 
main  lines  of  human  nature  study  for  thousands,  prob- 
ably for  tens  of  thousands  of  years  before  language 
took  form  and  written  history  began,  and  it  has  formed 
a  large  part  of  the  work  ever  since.  And  how  far  have 
vermin,  weeds,  insects,  and  microbes  been  brought  under 
subjection  even  now  ?  To  what  extent  this  phase 
of  struggle  and  warfare  should  enter  into  a  course  of 
nature  study  must  remain  largely  a  matter  for  individual 
parents  and  teachers  to  decide,  but  that  it  has  played  an 
important  and  fundamental  role  in  development  of  civili- 
zation and  formation  of  human  character  there  can  be 

i 

no  doubt.     And  it  remains  as  true  as  ever  that  character 

1  "  Foundations  of  Nature  Study,"  The  Pedagogical  Seminary,  vol.  vi, 
'553;  and  vol.  vii,  No.  i,  pp.  95-110,  No.  2   pp    ^nX -•>-><? 


THE    POIiNT    OF    VIEW 


can  only  be  developed  by  struggle,  by  active,  intelli- 
gent, patient  overcoming  of  difficulties,  the  elements 
that  achieved  success  throughout  the  ancient  travail  of 
the  race./  It  is  still  (^  To  him  that  overcometh  "\  and 
nothing  can  take  the  place  of  the  hard  task  in  education. 
But  there  need  be  no  reversion  to  barbarism.  In  fact,  the 


FIG.  i.     PRIMITIVE  GERMAN  HOME  AND  ITS  OCCUPATIONS 
(From  a  painting  by  Job.  Gehrts) 

work  should  all  be  planned  to  exert  the  strongest  possible 
uplift  toward  civilization  instead. 

Dominion  over  Animals. —/The  step  from  abject  savagery, 
by  which  a  new  relation  between  mankind  and  nature  was 
opened  up,  was  domestication  of  animals.  }  Hitherto  life 
had  been  a  struggle  against  all  nature,  against  friends  and 
foes  alike.  At  this  point  man  first  developed  intelligence 


4  NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 

enough  to  distinguish  between  friends  and  enemies  and 
to  discover  companions  and  helpers  among  the  animals 
about  him.  I  The  first  animal  tamed  was  the  dog,  which  is) 
still  the  idol  of  the  child's  heart/  Although  taming  of  the 
dog  antedates  all  historic  records,  it  is  quite  probable  that 
this  great  advance  was  made  by  the  plastic  fancy  of  a  child, 
— (that  the  first  animal  domesticated  was  the  playfellow  of 
some  savage  boy  or  girl. 

Then  follows,  also  before  the  dawn  of  authentic  history, 
domestication  of  the  horse,  sheep,  goat,  horned  cattle,  \ 
and  most  of  our  domesticated  birds,  and  it  is  self-evident 
that  the  family  or  tribe  first  to  develop  the  patience  and 
intelligence  to  tame  and  thus  utilize  animal  helpers  must 
have  rapidly  outstripped  all  rivals  in  the  race  for  life. 

( Human  races,  in  fact,  may  be  divided  into  those  that 
have  and  those  that  have  not  tamed  the  horse.  '  In  long  l 
struggles  small  margins  of  strength  are  often  decisive,  but 
one  "horse  power"  equals  that  of  five  men,  from  which 
we  see  what  an  enormous  advantage  accrued  from  domes- 
tication of  this  one  animal.  Who  first  tamed  and  rode  a 
colt  no  one  will  ever  know,  but  it  must  have  been  some 
boy,  lithe,  strong,  and  daring.  Certainly  the  twelve-year- 
old  Alexander  succeeded  better  with  Bucephalus  than  the 
royal  grooms  of  his  father  Philip. 

The  important  interest  for  nature  study  is  the  process 
of  domestication,  the  gaining  of  "dominion"  expressed 
in  the  command,  the  establishment  of  helpful  relations,  . 
rather  than  anything  connected  with  the  animal  itself. 
Thus  we  miss  the  substance  for  the  shadow  when  we 
attempt  to  give  this  kind  of  education  by  pictures  of  ani- 
mals ;  and  we  also  lose  the  humanizing  and  educational 


THE    POINT    OF    VIEW  5 

essence  of  the  process  when  we  substitute  the  dernon- 
strational  method  of  the  "  school  animal  "  or  the  zoological 
garden  for  the  primitive,  normal,  natural  relation  of  com- 
panionship between  the  living  animal  and  the  child.  The? 
pet  animal  is  thus  for  the  child,  as  it  was  for  the  race, 
the  key  to  the  door  into  knowledge  and  dominion  over 
all  animal  life.  Domestication  of  animals  in  its  widest 


FIG.  2.      HERD  OF  ELK,  BLUE  MOUNTAIN  FOREST 
(Photograph  by  Charles  Irving  Rice) 

sense  (and  possibly  we  should  add  certain  phases  of 
hunting  and  fishing)  is_  elementary  zoology.  Its  funda- 
mental character  and  value  for  education  are  evinced  in 
the  passion  of  children  for  pets  ;  and  as  in  the  race,  so 
in  the  life  of  the  child,  it  should  be  made  the  most  of  as 
a  step  toward  civilization.  This  subject  will  be  more 
completely  developed  in  a  chapter  by  itself,  and  will  also 
form  the  key  to  the  animal  nature  study  advocated 


6  NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 

throughout   the   book.      But   two   general   considerations 
belong  in  this  connection. 

At  this  point  introduce  an  easy  coordination  with  lan- 
guage and  writing  by  asking  the  children  to  make  a  list 
of  all  the  animals,  wild  and  tame,  that  they  know.  Let 
them  write  "tame"  and  "wild"  in  separate  columns  and 
number  each  as  they  go  along,  thus  : 


NAME  OF  CHILD 


AGE 


DATE.... 


1.  Dog. 

2.  Cat. 

3.  Horse. 

4.  Cow. 

5.  Sheep. 


Animals  whose  Names  I  know 
TAME  ANIMALS 


6.  Rabbit. 
Birds. 

7.  Hen. 

8.  Turkey. 

9.  Goose. 


10.  Duck. 

11.  Canary. 
Insects. 

12.  Honeybee,  etc. 

13.  Silkworm 


WILD  ANIMALS 


Insects. 

2 1 .  Milkweed  Butterfly. 

22.  Potato  Beetle. 

23.  Meal  Worm,  etc. 
Worms. 

24.  Earthworm. 

25.  Leech,  etc. 
Mollusks. 

26.  Oyster. 

27.  Clam. 

28.  Snail,  etc.1 


1  Ask  the  children  to  underline  the  names  of  animals  about  which  they  know  any  facts 
or  a  good  story.  These  may  be  used  for  oral  language  lessons,  and  the  teacher  can  find  out 
the  extent  of  the  children's  knowledge  and  will  thus  be  able  to  correct  what  is  false  and  add 
to  what  is  insufficient. 


I. 

Bison. 

12. 

Wren. 

2. 

Moose. 

J3- 

Chickadee. 

3- 

Deer. 

14. 

Eagle,  etc. 

4- 

Red  Squirrel. 

Sna&es. 

5- 

Gray  Squirrel. 

1S- 

Garter  Snake. 

6. 

Rat. 

1  6. 

Green  Snake,  etc. 

7- 

Mouse,  etc. 

Amphibia. 

Birds. 

T7- 

Bullfrog. 

8. 

Quail. 

18. 

Wood  Frog. 

9- 

Partridge. 

19. 

Common  Toad, 

etc. 

10. 

Robin. 

Fishes. 

n. 

Bluebird. 

20. 

Trout,  etc. 

THE    POINT    OF   VIEW 


A  little  wholesome  rivalry  may  be  permitted  as  to  who 
can  give  the  longest  list.  Copying  names  is  waste  of  time, 
so  that  this  exercise  should  be  given  to  the  class  in  a  way 
that  shall  not  allow  recourse  to  books.  I  have  indicated 
elementary  lines  of  classification  that  may  be  utilized'  or 
wholly  disregarded,  according  to  advancement  of  the  class 
or  preferences  of  the  teacher.  They  are  of  some  interest 
as  showing  in  general  that  it  was  found  worth  while  to 
domesticate  certain  kinds  of  animals,  as  mammals  and 
birds,  and  but  few  others. 

After  the  class  have  reached  their  limit  ascertain  how 
many  animals,  wild  ajad  tame,  the  longest  lists  contain, 
and  then  have  one  of  the  children  copy  on  the  blackboard 
the  following  list. 

NUMBERS  OF  DIFFERENT  KINDS  OF  ANIMALS  KNOWN 


LIVING 

FOSSIL 

SPECIES 

SPECIES 

Backboned  Animals  (  Vertebrates)  .     .     . 

24,700 

2,400 

27,IOO 

Sea-squirts  (Tunicates\ 

_oo 

-JQO 

Clams,  Snails,  etc.  (Mollusks}    .... 

21,320 

20,895 

42,215 

Mollusk-like  Animals  (Molluscoided)  . 

820 

4,340 

5,l60 

Insects,  Crabs,  etc.  (Arthropods')    .     .     . 

209,405 

3'570 

212,975 

Worms  (Vermes}      

5,500 

200 

5,700 

Starfishes,  etc.  (Echinoderms}    .... 

2,370 

3,840 

6,210 

Jellyfishes,  Polyps  (C&lenterates)    .     .     . 

3^545 

2,680 

6,225 

One-celled  Animals  (Protozoa)  .... 

4J30 

2,OOO 

6,130 

Total  of  all  kinds  of  animals  known  . 

272,090 

39,9*5 

312,015 

Professor  Riley's  estimate  of  insect  species  on  the  earth  is  1 0,000,000.! 

1  Any  teacher  is  expected  to  use  only  so  much  of  this  table  as  is  reasonably  intelligible 
to  the  class.  Still  the  object  of  using  it  is  distinctly  to  teach  how  much  we  do  not  know. 
The  scientific  names  are  inserted  to  aid  the  teacher.  It  is  not  intended  that  they  be  taught 
to  the  class. 


8  NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 

These  figures  may  serve  to  suggest  what  a  little  way 
human  dominion  as  yet  extends  over  the  animal  life  of  the 
world  and  how  much  remains  to  be  done.1 

Somewhat  of  sadness  attaches  to  the  column  "  fossil 
species."  We  shall  never  see  any  of  these  alive  upon  the 
earth  again.  Among  their  number  were  the  largest  and 
most  powerful  animals  that  the  world  has  ever  produced 
or  will  ever  see  again,  the  animal  kings  of  creation  for 
their  epochs  :  the  mammoth,  a  third  taller  and  more  than 
twice  the  weight  of  our  elephant  ;  the  mastodon,  larger 
still;  the  Irish  elk,  the  gigantic,  Cervus giganteus,  and  its 
American  cousin,  C.  Americanus ;  the  largest  members 
of  the  deer  family,  animals  that  used  to  square  accounts 
with  antlers  that  measured  eleven  feet  from  tip  to  tip ;  an 
American  lion,  Felis  atrox,  as  large  as  the  Asiatic  species ; 
at  least  two  bisons  of  enormous  size,  one  with  horns  that 
measured  fully  ten  feet  across,  —  all  are  past  and  gone. 
Probably  man  has  been  responsible  for  the  extermination 
of  most  of  the  larger  species  within  recent  geologic  time, 
and  in  the  process  of  subjugation  it  would  seem  that  he  has 
been  needlessly  severe.  Men  had  little  use  for  menageries 
then,  but  now  what  would  we  not  give  to  see  some  of 
those  wonders  of  the  world  in  life  again! 

What  is  more  to  the  point,  extermination  of  animal 
species  is  now  going  on,  and  at  a  rate  never  before 
equaled.  With  modern  rifles,  shotguns,  and  dynamite 
bombs,  coupled  with  modern  steamships  and  railroads,  by 
which  the  remotest  corners  of  the  earth  become  readily 

1  Shaler  speaks  of  "  near  a  hundred  animals  "  that  man  has  domesti- 
cated. Domesticated  Animals.  Their  Relation  to  Man  and  to  Jiis  Advance- 
ment in  Civilization,  p.  219.  New  York,  Charles  Scribner's  Sons,  1895. 


THE    POINT    OF    VIEW 


accessible,  any  species  of  any  size  or  value,  either  in  the 
oceans  or  on  the  land,  stands  small  chance  against  exter- 
mination, unless  directly  preserved  by  man.  Within  the 
past  forty  years  the  largest  mammal  native  to  our  conti- 
nent, the  bison,  has  been  practically,  and  doubtless  would 
have  been  absolutely,  exterminated  had  it  not  been  for 


FIG.  3.     BUFFALO  HERD  -ON  A  STAMPEDE,  BLUE  MOUNTAIN  FOREST 
(Photograph  by  Charles  Irving  Rice) 

the  wise  action  of  the  government  and  of  a  few  public- 
spirited  men.  Prominent  among  these  was  the  late  Austin 
Corbin  of  New  York,  who  established  the  Blue  Mountain 
Park  as  a  preserve  for  large  game.  In  this  area  of  26,000 
acres,  containing  a  mountain  range,  we  are  permitted  to 
see  wild  life,  not  in  menagerie  cages  and  pens,  but  in  its 
magnificence,  in  the  setting  Nature  designed  for  it.  Surely 
the  Corbin  Preserve  is  an  institution  of  national  interest. 


10  NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 

Cultivation  of  Plants.  —  Important  as  domestication  of 
animals  is,  the  greatest  advance  of  the  race  in  its  relations 
toward  nature  is  found  in  the  cultivation  of  plants.  This 
has  constituted  the  largest  factor  in  the  transition  of 
human  tribes  from  wandering  nomads  to  stable,  populous, 
civilized  communities.  In  the  stability  of  landhold  we 
have  the  beginning  of  home,  as  distinguished  from  the 
casual  camping  ground;  and  in  the  footsteps  of  Ceres 
and  Pomona  has  followed  Flora,  to  make  home  beautiful. 
With  home  is  founded  commerce,  and  arts,  literatures, 
philosophies,  and  sciences  as  well. 

Cultivation  of  plants  indicated  and  developed  elements 
of  character  fundamental  to  civilized  life.  Willingness  to 
work  for  daily  bread,  intelligent  provision  for  the  future, 
courage  to  fight  for  home,  love  of  country,  are  a  few 
among  the  virtues  attained.  When  we  consider  its  uni- 
versal and  fundamental  character  in  relation  to  civilization 
and  human  advancement,  the  omission  of  soil  lore  from 
a  system  of  education  of  the  young  is  suggestive  of 
relapse  to  barbarism.  To  allow  a  child  to  grow  up  with-// 
out  planting  a  seed  or  rearing  a  plant  is  a  crime  against  I 
civilized  society,  and  our  armies  of  tramps  and  hordes  of 
hoodlums  are  among  the  first  fruits  of  an  educational 
system  that  slights  this  important  matter. 

Elementary  botany  is  chiefly  cultivation  of  plants.  We 
shall  see  in  its  proper  place,  as  we  have  already  noted 
with  animals,  that  there  are  certain  plants  that  man  has 
found  worth  while  to  domesticate.  Certain  other  plants 
are  of  great  human  value,  though  not  domesticated,  and 
others,  weeds  and  poisonous  species,  have  been  recognized 
as  enemies  of  the  race.  The  nature  study  of  plants  in 


THE    POINT    OF    VIEW 


I  I 


FIG.  4.      A  HOME 

elementary  public  schools  should  consist  in  just  this  fun- 
damental knowledge  that  has  grouped  itself  most  closely 
about  human  life.  (Modern  botany  is  a  special  interest  of 
adult  minds.  \  Compared  with  this  ancient  body  of  plant 
lore  it  is  recent,  technical,  superficial,  and  special,  and  as 
such  it  is  a  profound  mistake  to  attempt  to  introduce  it 
into  a  general  plan  of  elementary  education. 


12  NATURE    STUDY   AND    LIFE 

Humanity,  like  the  giant  Antaeus,  renews  its  strength 
when  it  touches  Mother  Earth.  Sociological  studies  sug- 
gest that  city  life  wears  itself  out  or  goes  to  decay  after 
three  or  four  generations,  unless  rejuvenated  by  fresh 
blood  from  the  country.  Thus  these  deeper  relations  to 
nature  are  not  only  ancient  and  fundamental  but  are  also 
immanent  and  persistent.  While  I  should  not  advocate 
teaching  trades  in  the  public  school,  although  we  are  wont 
to  say  that  every  boy  should  learn  one,  this  study  is 
so  much  deeper  down  in  the  warp  and  woof  of  life,  so 
immediately  supports  the  whole  structure  of  civilized 
social  organization,  and  is  so  closely  associated  in  the 
creation  and  maintenance  of  the  home,  as  distinguished 
from  the  camp  on  the  one  side  and  the  tenement-house 
barrack  on  the  other,  that  it  stands  on  quite  a  different 
footing.  (l  should  like  to  see  the  nature-study  course  give 
to  all  boys  and  girls  the  knowledge  and  the  power  to  sur- 
round their  homes  with  the  most  useful  and  beautiful 
plants  available,  and  actually  to  produce  their  living  by 
rearing  plants  or  animals,  or  both,  if  occasion  ever  require. ) 
Many  will  say  that  this  instruction  belongs  to  the  home. 
This  is  true  in  a  measure;  much  of  it  should  and  must 
be  done  by  the  home,  and  one  of  the  chief  aims  of  this 
book  is  to  unite  home  and  school  in  the  work.  Often  a 
home  from  which  this  fundamental  "nature  study"  has 
lapsed  can  be  reached  and  rejuvenated  by  the  children 
through  the  school.  This  is  not  only  the  easiest  and 
most  natural  way,  but  in  many  cases  the  only  hope. 

But,  the  teacher  says,  the  parents  make  all  sorts  of 
objections  to  nature  study,  call  it  a  "  fad,"  "nonsense," 
complain  of  "waste  of. time  on  new-fangled  notions,"  say 


THE    POINT    OF    VIEW  13 

that  "they  never  had  to  learn  such  stuff."     These  objec- 
tions of  the  home  are  for  the  most  part  right  as  to  what 


FIG.  5.     A  TENEMENT  HOUSE 

often    goes   by  the  name  of   nature  study,    and  nothing 
could  be  more  helpful  for  development  of  ideal  courses 


14  NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 

adapted  to  local  conditions  than  to  invite  their  freest 
possible  expression.  If  we  cannot  find  a  nature  study 
worth  while,  a  nature  study  so  full  of  human  good  that  it 
will  meet  and  overcome  all  such  objections,  then  we  should 
devote  the  time  to  other  subjects.  But  from  several  years' 
experience  the  writer  is  confident  that  all  reasonable  objec- 
tions can  be  met,  and  that  we  can  find  a  nature  study  so 
good  that  this  attitude  of  parents  can  be  completely 
reversed  and  their  interest  and  enthusiasm  so  thoroughly 
aroused  that  they  will  say:  "We  had  no  chance  to  learn 
these  things,  but  we  wish  our  children  might  be  given  the 
opportunity  and  teach  us." 

When  this  is  accomplished,  we  shall  have  a  nature 
study  that  shall  bind  home  and  school  together  as  noth- 
ing in  the  curriculum  does  at  present.  (^Instead  of  giving 
over  our  entire  school  system  to  passive  book  learning,  we 
shall  have  at  least  one  subject  that  shall  keep  alive  in  the 
child  the  spirit  of  research,  under  the  impetus  of  which  ; 
'tie  makes  such  astounding  progress  in  learning  the  great 
unknown  of  nature  around  him  during  the  first  three  or  four 
years  of  life.  This  matter  of  original  research  in  hand-to-, 
hand  contact  with  nature  ought  to  be  made  the  breath  of 
life  in  an  educational  system.  It  will  form  perhaps  the 
most  essential  feature  in  every  lesson  in  this  book,  and  will 
be  treated  more  fully  under  a  special  heading.  By  its  means 
we  may  reinstate  childhood  in  the  function  for  which  it  was 
designed  and  crated.  John  Fiske  has  pointed  out  that 
infancy  was  developed  as  a  prolonged  period  of  plasticity, 
by  which  "the  door  for  progressiveness  was  set  ajar."1 

1  John  Fiske,     The  Meaning  of  Infancy.    Excursions  of  an  Evolutionist, 
P-  3r4- 


THE    POINT    OF    VIEW  15 

If  life  is  response  to  the  order  of  nature,  the  higher 
and  more  complete  the  response,  the  higher  and  richer 
must  be  the  life.  Since  response  presupposes  knowledge, 
nature  study  must  take  its  place  in  public  education  as 
one  of  the  chief  means  by  which  the  race  may  push 
forward  toward  the  more  perfect  response  to  the  order 
of  nature,  which  shall  be  its  more  perfect  life.  "  I  am 
come  that  they  might  have  life,  and  that  they  might  have 
it  more  abundantly." 


CHAPTER    II 

VALUES    OF   NATURE   STUDY 

ECONOMIC,  ^ESTHETIC,  EDUCATIONAL,   ETHICAL, 
RELIGIOUS 

Consummation  of  happiness  is  the  natural  outcome  of  the  perfecting 
of  character,  but  that  perfecting  can  be  achieved  only  through  struggle, 
through  discipline,  through  resistance.^  It  is  for  him  that  overcometh  that 
a  crown  of  life  is  reserved.  The  consummate  product  of  a  world  of  evolu- 
tion is  the  character  that  creates  happiness,  that  is  replete  with  dynamic 
possibilities  of  fresh  life  and  activity  in  directions  forever  new.  Such  a 
character  is  the  reflected  image  of  God,  and  in  it  are  contained  the  prom 
ise  and  the  potency  of  life  everlasting.  FISKE,  Through  ATature  to  God, 
p.  114. 

And  sure  good  is  first  in  feeding  people,  then  in  dressing  people,  then 
in  lodging  people,  and  lastly  in  rightly  pleasing  people,  with  arts,  or  sciences, 
or  any  other  subject  of  thought.  RUSKIN,  Sesame  and  Lilies,  p.  236. 

Economic.  —  In  basing  a  plan  of  nature  study  upon  its 
human  values  it  may  be  necessary  to  explain  what  is  meant 
by  the  worth  of  a  study  in  the  curriculum.  Throughout 
all  the  details  of  the  various  kinds  of  values  we  shall 
discuss/the  paramount  value  to  be  aimed  at  is  character, 
will  to  do  good,  power  to  create  happiness.  )  No  lesson  that 
does  not  contribute  toward  this  end  can  claim  the  right 
to  a  place  in  the  course. 

Different  plans  of  nature  study  are  more  or  less  strong 
in  presenting  a  certain  class  of  values,  generally  the 
aesthetic  or  scientific.  My  own  plan  has  often  been 


18  NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 

criticised  on  the  ground  that  it  emphasizes  unduly  the 
economic  side,  some  even  going  so  far  as  to  insinuate 
that  economic  values  are  the  only  ones  recognized. 
Nothing  can  be  farther  from  my  thought,  as  I  hope  this 
chapter  will  conclusively  prove ;  but  I  would  include  all 
human  values  in  about  the  relations  that  they  bear  to  life, 
especially  to  child  life  in  its  different  phases  and  interests, 
have  made  economic  values  prominent  because  all  other 
plans  of  nature  study  ignore  them  almost  completelyj 
I  have  used  them  because  money  is  the  common,  univer- 
sal expression  of  value  that  every  one  understands  and 
respects  ;  and  while  we  may  realize  that  there  are  many 
things  that  money  cannot  buy,  no  other  measure  of  value 
is  so  fundamental  to  the  ordinary  affairs  of  life.  Money 
value  is,  moreover,  the  trunk  that  supports  many  of  the 
higher  values.  Some  measure  of  assured  material  wealth 
must  be  attained  before  art,  literature,  and  science  can 
develop,  and  what  holds  true  in  the  race,  among  different 
peoples,  holds,  in  the  main,  with  individuals.  Further,  the 
entire  organization  of  society,  social  ethics,  laws,  and  cus- 
toms group  themselves  about  this  as  the  common  measure 
of  value  for  the  life  and  work  of  man. 

More  and  more,  as  society  becomes  organized,  the  com- 
mon goods  of  nature  come  to  form  a  great  public  prop- 
erty, —  pure  air,  pure  water,  forests  and  roadside  trees 
and  flowers,  game  and  fishes,  birds,  and  other  beneficent 
animals  ;  and  the  laws  founded  on  these  nature  values  are 
yearly  widening  their  circles  of  influence  as  knowledge  of 
nature  advances.  On  the  other  hand,  the  evils  in  nature, 
—  insect  pests,  noxious  weeds,  fungous  or  bacterial  dis- 
eases, injurious  animals,  —  constitute  a  continual  menace 


VALUES    OF    NATURE    STUDY  19 

to  the  public  good.  No  man  has  the  right  (and  ignorance 
cannot  be  pleaded  as  adequate  excuse)  to  allow  things  to 
breed  upon  his  premises  that  may  cause  damage  to  his 
neighbor.  (This  fight  for  the  good  and  against  the  bad  in 
nature  is  primordial  and  fundamental ;  it  has  existed  as 
long  as  the  human  race  ^  it  cannot  and  should  not  be  set 
aside  by  any  considerations  of  a  sentimental  character,  . 
but  it  should  be  made  in  our  plan  of  public  education 
what  it  is  and  always  has  been  in  the  education  of  the 
race,  the  dominant  idea  in  nature  study.  We  cannot 
expect  intelligent  observance  of  laws  until  the  facts  of 
nature  upon  which  they  are  based  become  common 
property  of  the  community. (To  lay  this  foundation  for 
right  living  is  certainly  one  of  the  functions  of  a  publi^ 
school  system.  )As  it  is  now,  few  people  know  even  the 
names  of  the  things  that  are  doing  the  greatest  harm 
or  the  most  good  in  their  own  gardens.  Insect  pests, 
weed  seeds,  and  the  spores  of  destructive  fungi  are  no 
respecters  of  fences,  and  we  must  look  to  a  rational  nature 
study  to  render  universal  the  needed  information. 

Finally,  with  manyUhe  financial  motive  is  the  strongest) 
one  we  can  bring  to  bear  to  induce  them  to  study  or  i 
allow  their  children  to  study  nature.)  After  a  beginning 
has  been  made,  other,  and  so-called  higher,  motives  may 
develop.  There  is  the  greater  need  of  enlarging  upon  the 
economic  motive  because  it  has  never  been  adequately 
brought  before  the  public.  Our  biological  science  has  been 
too  largely  a  dead  museum  affair  with  little  relation  to  the 
life  of  the  community.  When  we  study  nature  alive 
and  at  work,  we  begin  to  realize  the  incalculable  worth 
of  knowledge,  the  human  value  of  science.  A  single 


20  NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 

insect  species,  inconspicuous  and  uninteresting  in  itself, 
like  the  San  Jose  scale  or  the  codling  moth,  has  the  power 
to  destroy  or  cripple  the  fruit  industry  of  the  entire  coun- 
try. Another,  like  the  gipsy  moth,  can  possibly  strip  the 
continent,  periodically  at  least,  of  its  forests,  and  others, 
for  example  the  Hessian  fly  or  chinch  bug,  hold  in  their 
power  the  wheat  crops  of  large  sections  of  the  country. 
Practical  knowledge  in  this  field  stimulates  interest  in  birds 
and  other  insectivorous  animals,  and  we  have  a  foundation 
from  which  to  study  their  work  in  the  economy  of  nature. 
Fungous  and  microbic  diseases  of  plants,  animals,  and 
man  are  other  important  topics  of  recent  development 
which  must  be  handled  with  discretion,  but  about  which 
the  public  should  have  intelligent  information.  It  is  need- 
less to  multiply  illustrations.  My  point  is  that  nature 
study,  or  elementary  science,  for  the  public  school  ought 
to  be  all  for  sure  human  good.  We  must  winnow  our 
science  of  chaff  and  by  careful  selection  fill  the  limited 
time  with  the  best  knowledge  the  experience  of  the  race 
and  modern  science  has  to  offer. 

Esthetic.  —  After  the  necessities  of  life  are  secured,  man 
has  instinctively  turned  toward  the  beautiful  to  completd 
his  satisfaction  in  nature.  (  Flower  culture  is  an  ancient 
line  of  human  interest.  Possibly  nothing  in  modern  times 
equals  the  hanging  gardens  of  Babylon.  Here  we  must 
turn  for  real  education  on  the  aesthetic  side  to  the  creation 
of  the  beautiful  in  nature  and  not  content  ourselves  with 
talking  about  it  or  with  passive  enjoyment.  Nature  study 
should  thus  fill  and  surround  our  homes  and  schoolhouses 
with  the  most  beautiful  things  attainable  and  instill  the 
spirit  of  creating  and  preserving  the  natural  beauties  of 


VALUES    OF    NATURE    STUDY  21 

roadside  and  field  and  forest  rather  than  that  of  ruth- 
less destruction.  This  side  is  provided  for  in  chapters 
on  cultivation  of  flowers,  school  and  home  gardens,  and 
elementary  forestry. 

Unless  the  active  and  creative  side  is  emphasized,  a  con- 
stant danger  is  that  the  study  will  fall  to  the  level  of  fancy- 
work,  which  may  interest  the  teacher  but  fail  to  appeal  to 
a  large  part  of  the  class,  especially  the  boys.  While  beauty 
should  be  given  its  due  share  of  attention,  a  still  greater 
danger  is  that  it  usurp  the  whole  field.  We  then  have  a 
condition  so  well  described  by  Huxley  : 

In  these  times  the  educational  tree  seems  to  me  to  have  its 
roots  in  the  air,  its  leaves  and  flowers  in  the  ground  ;  and,  I  confess, 
I  should  very  much  like  to  turn  it  upside  down,  so  that  its  roots 
might  be  solidly  embedded  among  the  facts  of  nature,  and  draw 
thence  a  sound  nutriment  for  the  foliage  and  fruit  of  literature  and 
of  art.  No  educational  system  can  have  any  claim  to  permanence, 
unless  it  recognizes  the  truth  that  education  has  two  great  ends  to 
which  everything  else  must  be  subordinated.  The  one  of  these  is 
to  increase  knowledge;  the  other  is  to  develop  the  love  of  right 
and  the  hatred  of  wrong. 

With  wisdom  and  uprightness  a  nation  can  make  its  way 
worthily,  and  beauty  will  follow  in  the  footsteps  of  the  two,  even  if 
she  be  not  specially  invited  ;  while  there  is  perhaps  no  sight  in  the 
whole  world  more  saddening  and  revolting  than  is  offered  by  men 
sunk  in  ignorance  of  everything  but  what  other  men  have  written; 
seemingly  devoid  of  moral  belief  or  guidance;  but  with  the  sense 
of  beauty  so  keen,  and  the  power  of  expression,  so  cultivated,  that 
their  sensual  caterwauling  may  be  almost  mistaken  for  the  music 
of  the  spheres.  Science  and  Education  Essays,  p.  130. 

Finally,  beauty  should  be  permitted  to  bring  its  own 
message,  to  speak  for  itself.  Explaining  it  and  talking 


22  NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 

about  it  more  often  detracts  from    its  best  appreciation 
and  enjoyment. 

You  send  for  me  to  talk  to  you  of  art ;  and  I  have  obeyed  you 
in  coming.  But  the  main  thing  I  have  to  tell  you  is,  —  that  art  must 
not  be  talked  about.  .  .  .  Does  a  bird  need  to  theorize  about  building 
its  nest,  or  boast  of  it  when  built?  RUSKIN,  Sesame  and  Lilies. 
p.  216. 

Educational.  —  On  the  side  of  educational  values  in  build- 
ing up  sound  brain  tissue  and  mental  power,  tbe  school 
should  yield  to  Nature,  "the  Old  Nurse,"  so  far  as  pos- 
sible, the  position  she  has  held  in  the  education  of  the 
race.  Clearly,  this  relation  is  that  of  active  response  in 
direct,  first-hand  contact  with  nature.  /Doing  something 
with  nature  has  ever  formed  a  large  factor  in  education,  of 
which  nothing  can  take  the  place.  ^This  alone,  as  Froebel 
says,  can  prevent  education  from  becoming  hollow  and 
empty,  artificial,  and  a  wholly  secondhand  affair. 

We  do  not  feel  the  meaning  of  what  we  say,  for  our  speech 
is  made  up  of  memorized  ideas,  based  neither  on  perception  nor 
on  productive  effort.  Therefore,  it  does  not  lead  to  perception, 
production,  life ;  it  has  not  proceeded,  it  does  not  proceed  from 
life.  FROEBEL,  Education  of  Man,  p.  88. 

With  a  distrust  in  "  book  larnin "  that  has  become 
proverbial,  it  is  strange  that  it  has  been  allowed  to  domi- 
nate the  school  curriculum  so  completely.  This  danger  is 
now  so  widely  recognized  that  it  is  unnecessary  to  dwell 
upon  it,  and,  while  some  of  our  best  plans  of  elemen- 
tary science  teaching  aim  to  bring  nature  and  tbe  child 
into  direct"  contact,  much  remains  to  be  done  by  way 
of  deciding  what  to  bring  to  the  child  and  what  sort  of 


VALUES    OF    NATURE    STUDY  23 

contact,  relation,  or  association  it  is  best  to  form.  Upon 
these  two  things  depend  largely  the  quality  of  knowledge 
and  texture  of  mind  that  education  yields  to  the  child. 
Space  does  not  permit  a  full  statement  of  the  argument, 
which  I  have  given  at  length  elsewhere,1  but  its  two 
important  conclusions  must  be  clearly  borne  in  mind. 
These  are,  first,  that  quality  of  knowledge  depends  upon 
the  ideas  with  which  it  is  associated  in  the  mind ;  and, 
second,  that  the  strongest  associations  are  related  to  the 
spontaneous  activities  of  the  individual.  That  is,  for 
elementary  study  we  must  select  those  things  that  stand 
in  fundamental  associations  with  life  and  about  which  the 
children  can  find  something  worth  while  to  do.  In  line 
with  Herbart's  doctrine  of  apperception  and  Froebel's  of 
self-activity,  it  is  the  active  as  distinguished  from  the  pas- 
sive method  of  instruction,  of  which  Professor  Burnham 
says  : 

/The  great  maxim  of  modern  reform  in  education  is  the  activity  \ 
of  the  pupil  instead  of  the  didactics  of  the  teacher.1  There  are  but 
two  methods  of  instruction :  as  regards  the  pupil,  the  active  and  the 
passive ;  as  regards  the  teacher,  the  method  of  demonstration  and 
the  method  of  suggestion.  [The  active  method  of  the  kindergarten 
and  the  university  should  oe  adopted  in  all  the  grades,  j  [Italics 
mine.] 

In  connection  with  it  we  must  lay  special  stress  upon  the 
fact  that  the  highest  type— ef  spontaneous,  whole-souled 
activity  cannot  be  developed  about  trifling  or  worthless 
things.  "  Give  children  large  interests  and  give  them 
young.J'  This  motto  of  Alice  Freeman  Palmer  may 
well  be  used  in  deciding  whether  a  topic  should  be 

1  Pedagogical  Seminary,  vol.  vii,  No.  2,  p.  208. 


24  NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 

admitted  to  the  nature-study  course.  Will  it  form  or 
help  to  form  an  important,  lifelong  interest, — an  interest 
not  technical  or  superficial,  touching  life  only  on  the  sur- 
face, here  and  there  and  at  long  intervals,  but  one  that 
lies  close  to  the  heart,  to  the  home,  and  to  all  that  makes 
life  worth  living  ?  The  value  of  such  an  interest  is  inesti- 
mable. It  may  add  a  sparkle  to  the  eye,  elasticity  to  the 
step,  and  a  glow  to  every  heart  beat,  and  be  the  most 
efficient  safeguard  against  idleness  and  waste  of  time, 
evil,  and  temptation  of  every  sort.  The  love  of  some- 
thing worthy  and  ennobling  is  a  passport  the  world  over, 
for  "All  the  world  loves  a  lover."  To  find  such  an  inter- 
est in  some  worthy  nature-love  is  to  discover  the  fountain 
of  youth. 

Nature  is  the  great  mother  of  such  interests,  and  in  pro- 
portion as  education  becomes  thus  alive  and  active,  nature 
study  must  form  a  prominent  factor  in  the  curriculum. 
What  is  there  for  the  whole  child  —  hands,  feet,  eyes, 
ears  and  brain,  mind  and  soul  —  to  work  with  actively, 
except  phenomena  of  nature,  responses  to  which  have 
constituted  the  chief  education  of  living  forms  through 
all  time  ?  Language  has  grown  up  out  of  and  around 
the  things  of  nature  to  such  an  extent  that  even  our 
common-school  reading  and  writing  is  little  more  than  a 
hollow  mockery  without  the  fundamental  nature  study  to 
give  it  life  and  content ;  and  much  of  our  best  literature 
must  fail  to  be  appreciated  if  its  allusions  to  nature  are 
not  properly  sensed. 

When  we  consider  that  the  Engis  skull  is  a  "well-shaped 
average  human  skull,"  indicating  an  average  European 
brain  of  the  present,  and  when  we  think  that  Nature 


VALUES    OF    NATURE    STUDY  25 

has  thus  built  up  the  human  brain  to  the  level  at  which 
civilization  was  possible,  we  begin  to  see  the  true  impor- 
tance of  her  tuition  and  to  realize  that  a  plan  of  education 
that  leaves  "  the  Old  Nurse"  in  the  background  is  quite 
likely  to  fail  in  laying  the  solid  foundations  of  intelligent 
human  character.  It  is  in  danger  of  posing  as  a  system 
of  elementary  education  with  really  elementary  education 
left  out. 

Before  discussing  its  value  from  the  point  of  view  of 
the  child's  development,  I  may  say  a  single  word  for  the 
teacher  and  for  the  tone  and  spirit  of  the  school  in  general, 
as  it  appears  largely  in  the  relation  of  teacher  to  child. 
[The  impossible  idea  that  a  teacher  must  know  everything 
is  at  present  the  shackles  of  our  school  system."^  Here  is 
a  subject  that  shatters  these  fetters  by  its  very  presence. 
In  this  field  any  child  may  ask  a  question  that  all  the 
wise  men  cannot  answer.  The  field  is  so  boundless  that 
to  expect  an  elementary  teacher  to  know  all  or  much  about 
a  small  part  of  it  is  preposterous.  The  most  advanced 
specialists  really  know  only  a  little  about  a  very  few  ani- 
mals or  plants,  and  this  little  relates  chiefly  to  technical 
details  that  have  no  place  in  a  nature-study  course.  On 
the  active  side  of  growth  and  movement  children,  teachers, 
and  specialists  are  all  learners  together. 

Thus,  father  and  son,  teacher  and  pupil,  parent  and  child,  walk 
together  in  one  great  living  universe.  Let  not  teacher  or  parent 
object  that  he  himself  is  as  yet  ignorant  of  this.  Not  the  communi- 
cation of  knowledge  already  in  their  possession  is  the  task,  but  the 
calling  forth  of  new  knowledge.  Let  them  observe,  lead  their  pupils 
to  observe,  and  render  themselves  and  their  pupils  conscious  of  their 
observations.  . 


26  NATURE   STUDY    AND    LIFE 

Even  the  knowledge  of  a  previously  given  name  is  unimportant ; 
only  the  clear  and  distinct  apprehension  and  the  correct  naming  of 
the  general  and  particular  attributes  are  important.  .  .  . 

Let  not  the  teacher  of  a  country  school  object  that  he  knows 
nothing  about  natural  objects,  not  even  their  names.  Even  if  he  has 
had  the  scantiest  education,  by  a  diligent  observation  of  nature  he 
may  gain  a  deeper  and  more  thorough,  more  living,  intrinsic,  and 
extrinsic  knowledge  of  natural  objects  in  their  diversity  and  individu- 
ality, than  he  can  acquire  from  ordinary  available  books. 

Besides,  that  so-called  higher  knowledge  rests,  ordinarily,  on 
phenomena  and  observations  within  the  reach  of  the  plainest  man, 
observations  which  frequently  —  if  he  know  how  to  use  his  eyes  — 
come  to  him  with  little  or  no  expense,  in  greater  beauty  than  the 
costliest  experiment  could  yield  them.  But  to  this  he  must  bring 
himself  by  continued  observation ;  to  this  he  must  let  himself  be 
brought  by  the  boys  and  youths  around  him. 

Parents  should  not  be  timid,  should  not  object  that  they  know 
nothing  themselves  and  do  not  know  how  to  teach  their  children.  If 
they  desire  to  know  something,  their  ignorance  is  not  the  greatest 
evil.  Let  them  imitate  the  child's  example;  let  them  become  chil- 
dren with  the  child,  learners  with  the  learner  ;  let  them  go  to  father 
and  mother,  and  with  the  child  be  taught  by  Mother  Nature  and  by 
the  fatherly  spirit  of  God  in  nature.  The  spirit  of  God  and  nature 
will  guide  them.  FROEBEL,  Education  of  Man,  pp.  200  ff. 

From  how  much  impossible  cram,  mental  pretense,  obliq- 
uity, and  distress  such  a  natural  relation  would  relieve  the 
teacher.  It  would  bring  us  up  to  natural,  ideal  relations 
of  teacher  to  pupil,  relations  of  mutual  helpfulness,  that 
would  sweeten  and  leaven  the  whole  lump  of  our  educa- 
tional system  and  make  it  instinct  with  interest  and  life. 
"  If  I  could  only  tell  teachers  how  easy  it  makes  the  whole 
school  go  I  would  be  satisfied,"  remarked  a  teacher  who 
had  given  this  kind  of  nature  study  a  trial.  Instead 
of  being  afraid  or  ashamed  to  say  "  I  don't  know,"  the 


VALUES    OF    NATURE    STUDY  27 

teacher  who  sincerely  desires  to  learn  will  be  glad  to  say 
it,  glad  to  have  something  brought  in  that  affords  him  an 
opportunity  to  learn,  and  not  only  that,  but  at  the  same 
time  the  best  possible  opportunity  to  teach.  Such  teach- 
ing and  learning  will  transform  education  from  a  deadly 
mechanical  grind  to  a  living  process. 

But  after  all,  childhood, — active,  fresh,  spontaneous 
childhood,  —  and  its  need  of  the  normal  environment  for 
growth  and  vigor,  supplies  the  imperative  demand  for  a 
natural  and  active  nature  study.  Truly  "  trailing  clouds 
of  glory  do  we  come  "  ;  and  when  we  discover  the  right 
way,  there  shall  be  no  "  shades  of  the  prison-house  "  to 
"  close  upon  the  growing  boy."  In  rare  cases  now  we 
find  the  charm  of  childlikeness,  the  open  interest  -and 
rapid  growth,  extending  on  through  boyhood  and  to  the 
end  of  old  age.  When  we  learn  how  to  educate  normally, 
this  may  become  the  rule  rather  than  the  exception. 

The  term  is  being  much  abused  at  present,  but  I  hope 
I  may  be  rightly  understood  when  I  say  that  the  key  to 
the  solution  of  this  problem  is  original  research.  The 
mind  seeks  for  truth  as  the  body  for  food.  Search  is  a 
primordial  element  in  all  life,  in  all  education.  Cut  this 
out  and  you  have  parasitism  and  degeneration  of  the 
higher  functions.  Everything  that  lives,  from  the  amoeba 
seeking  for  food  to  the  artist  or  the  scientist  in  search  of 
beauty  and  truth,  spends  the  best  effort  of  life  in  just  this 
thing,  —  search.  Witness  the  way  the  infant  learns  during 
the  first  years  of  life,  the  incessant  activity  and  infinite 
delight  and  wonderful  rapidity  with  which  it  reaches  out 
into  the  unknown  of  nature  around  it.  Let  us  study  how 
we  may  continue  this  splendid  process  of  growth  through 


28  NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 

all  the  years  of  school  life.  To  do  this  we  shall  need 
nature  at  every  turn,  and  the  result  will  be  a  living, 
active,  creating  mind  instead  of  a  helpless  parasite. 

Again :  I  am  incessantly  told  that  we,  who  advocate  the  introduc- 
tion of  science  in  schools,  make  no  allowance  for  the  stupidity  of  the 
•average  boy  or  girl  ;  but,  in  my  belief,  that  stupidity,  in  nine  cases 
out  of  ten,  fit,  non  nascitur,  and  is  developed  by  a  long  process  of 
parental  and  pedagogic  repression  of  the  natural  intellectual  appetites, 
accompanied  by  a  persistent  attempt  to  create  artificial  ones  for  food 
which  is  not  only  tasteless,  but  essentially  indigestible.  HUXLEY, 
Science  and  Education  Essays,  p.  128. 

Ethical  and  Social.  —  As  to  the  ethical  values  of  nature 
study,  an  active,  vigorous  mind  will  find  something  to  do, 
some  way  of  expressing  itself.  Whether  such  a  person 
does  good  or  evil  must  depend  largely  on  "  the  love  of  right 
and. the  hatred  of  wrong."  (Much  evil  is  clone  through 
pure  ignorance.  A  boy  has  little  idea  how  much  harm  he 
may  be  doing  when  he  kills  birds  or  destroys  their  nests, 
because  he  has  never  been  taught  how  much  good  they 
are  capable  of  doing  ;  and  further,  he  has  no  basis  of 
knowledge  to  tell  him  how  much  pain  and  distress  he 
may  be  causing  ;  and  finally,  he  has  no  realization  of 
the  greater  pleasure  that  he  himself  would  derive  from 
an  intelligent  study  of  the  same  birds.  No  one  can  esti- 
mate the  damage  that  the  introduction  of  certain  insects  to 
new  continents  has  wrought  and  may  cause,  but  we  must 
know  these  things  in  order  to  take  proper  precautions  in 
the  future.  To  do  our  duty  by  our  neighbors  we  need 
a  large  body  of  knowledge  of  the  common  things  that  , 
surround  the  home.  No  one,  if  he  knew  what  he  were 
doing,  would  breed  about  his  premises  noxious  insects 


VALUES    OF    NATURE    STUDY  29 

or  weeds  or  the  fungi  of  plant  or  human  diseases  that 
might  cause  his  neighbors  annoyance  or  loss.  These 
things  must  be  made  matters  of  common  knowledge  in 
order  to  form  the  basis  of  right  living,  and  how  can  this*, 
be  done  so  universally  and  well  as  in  our  nature-study 
courses  ?  In  order  to  safeguard  public  interests  and 
prevent  a  person  from  causing  damage  to  his  neighbors 
in  these  respects,  laws  are  being  rapidly  passed  in  the 
different  states.  We  cannot  hope  for  a  general  observ- 
ance of  them  until  the  facts  upon  which  they  are  based 
become  the  common  property  of  the  community.  Under 
the  several  subjects  collect  the  nature  laws  of  your  state 
or  city  and  town  ordinances  and  make  them  a  part  of  the 
nature-study  course,  —  the  laws  and  board  of  health  regu- 
lations touching  birds,  insects,  weeds,  street  trees,  forest 
fires,  destructive  fungi,  and  bacterial  diseases.  These 
laws  express  the  highest  level  of  intelligent  public  knowl- 
edge and  opinion,  and  their  influence  and  scope  should  be 
largely  increased  for  the  public  good.  How  can  this  be 
done  so  well  as  by  studying  the  laws  in  connection  with 
the  facts  of  nature  upon  which  they  are  based  ? 

Everywhere  in  our  theories  of  education  the  negative 
is  giving  place  to  the  positive.  We  must  have  positive 
effort  for  good  at  every  point  and  then  there  will  be  little 
need  of  the  dull  machinery  of  repression.  £  Just  in  the 
period  of  early  childhood,  with  its  passion  for  activity  and 
its  capacity  for  interests,  we  need  this  ethical  training  more 
than  at  any  other  timeT)  To  turn  the  stream  into  benefi- 
cent channels  is  far  better  than  to  let  it  run  to  waste  or 
to  dam  it  up.  If  the  boys  of  a  neighborhood  make  the 
raising  of  peaches  and  grapes  impossible,  a  better  remedy 


30  NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 

than  the  jail  would  be  to  start  them  raising  peaches  and 
grapes  of  their  own.  Effort  for  the  production  of  property 
is  ethical,  and  the  moment  the  child  engages  in  it  he  places 
himself  upon  the  side  of  law  and  order  in  the  community. 
To  rear  a  flower  is  an  ideally  ethical  thing  and  may  ele- 
vate the  moral  and  aesthetic  tone  of  a  household.  We 
need  this  ethical  training,  not  in  the  way  of  moralizing, 
but  in  unconscious  positive  doing,  as  the  warp  of  our  edu- 
cation, and  nature  study  offers  boundless  opportunities  for 
its  daily  inculcation  and  practice. 

Religious.  —  Finally,  no  one  can  love  nature  and  not 
love  its  Author,  and  if  we  can  find  a  nature  study  that 
shall  insure  a  sincere  love,  we  shall  be  laying  the  surest 
possible  foundation  for  religious  character. 

A  good  deal  has  been  written  of  late  about  the  child 
repeating  the  history  of  the  race,  and  it  seems  to  have 
been  taken  for  granted  that  the  nature  worships  of  primi- 
tive peoples  form  the  normal  stepping-stones  for  the  child 
to  higher  conceptions  of  religious  truth.  The  reasons 
that  seem  to  render  such  suppositions  unnecessary  or 
possibly  untenable  are  stated  more  fully  in  the  paper  just 
referred  to.1  It  is  sufficient  to  say  here  that  all  the  nature 
worships  of  which  we  now  have  any  knowledge  are  rela- 
tively modern  phenomena,  terminal  twigs  on  the  evolu- 
tionary tree,  rather  than  fundamental  elements  in  the 
main  trunk  of  human  progress.  They  would  thus  have 
no^relation  to  the  normal  development  of  the  child. 

[Creative  effort  for  good :  this  is  the  fundamental  con- 
ception of  religious  progress, \  aside  from  all  matters 
of  race,  creed,  or  sect,  — "  Trie  character  that  creates 

^•Pedagogical  Seminary,  vol.  vii,  p.  208. 


VALUES    OF    NATURE    STUDY  31 

happiness,  that  is  replete  with  dynamic  possibilities 
of  fresh  life  and  activity  in  directions  forever  new." 
Nature  is  given  as  the  great  matrix  with  which  we  are 
to  create,  and  to  go  through  life  with  no  attempt  to  gain 
a  knowledge  of  it,  with  no  effort  to  learn  its  possibilities, 
is  dull,  dead  atheism.  The  child  that  puts  forth  creative 
effort  to  make  the  world  better,  the  child  that  plants  a 
seed  or  cares  for  the  life  of  an  animal,  is  working  hand  in 
hand  with  nature  and  the  Creator,  and  what  higher  reli- 
gious development  can  we  desire  than  that  he  become 
the  "  reflected  image  of  God"? 


CHAPTER    III 

CHILDREN'S   ANIMALS   AND   PETS 

The  wolf  also  shall  dwell  with  the  lamb,  and  the  leopard  shall  lie 
down  with  the  kid  ;  and  the  calf  and  the  young  lion  and  the  falling 
together;  and  a  little  child  shall  lead  them. 

They  shall  not  hurt  nor  destroy  in  all  my  holy  mountain  :  for  the 
earth  shall  be  full  of  the  knowledge  of  the  Lord,  as  the  waters  cover 
the  sea.  Isaiah,  xi. 

He  comes  to  the  teacher  with  his  eyes  filled  with  a  thousand  pictures, 
but  these  are  ignored,  and  he  is  robbed  of  them  one  by  one,  until  the 
beauty  of  this  world  fades  from  his  sight,  and  it  is  changed  to  a  vale  of 
tears.  JACKMAN. 

Thanking  the  true  Pan 
Who  by  low  creatures  leads  to  heights  of  love. 

MRS.  BROWNING,  Flush  or  Faunas. 

.  PETS  are  the  child's  natural  introduction  to  animal  life.  J 
By  their  means  the  knowledge  gained  of  the  animal  as  a 
whole,  its  habits,  life,  individual  character,  intelligence, 
disposition,  affection  for  its  master,  its  health  and  well- 
being,  is  infinitely  more  living  and  real  than  that  imparted 
by  any  other  method  of  instruction.  By  its  associations 
with  the  child's  spontaneous  activities  in  caring  for  his 
pet  this  knowledge  becomes  a  part  of  his  life  and  will 
thus  enter  into  the  formation  of  his  character  to  exert 
its  civilizing  influence  as  long  as  he  lives.  Of  how  little 
value,  compared  with  this,  is  learning  of  names,  schemes 
of  classification,  or  anatomical  structures. 

33 


34  NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 

In  the  development  of  the  child's  emotional  and  moral 
life  this  relation  to  his  living  pet  is  of  even  greater  impor- 
tance.     Nothing  is  better  fitted  to  develop  patience  and 
conscientious  carefulness  than  the  daily  attention  to  its 
needs.     (Unselfishness   is   fostered   by  this   care  and  by  it 
the  generous  sharing  of  his  good  things  with  his  humble  / 
friend. 

Play  is  coming  to  be  recognized  more  and  more  as  an  \ 
important  factor  in  life  and  education.*)  Nothing  as  fully 
brings  into  healthful  activity  every  function  and  power, 
so  that  Froebel  truly  says  :  ('  A  man  is  a  whole  man  only 
when  he  plays.")  Plays  of  the  young  are  generally  pre- 
paratory to  activities  of  adult  life,  and  pet-plays  prepare, 
as  nothing  else  can,  for  the  most  important  of  all  func- 
tions, the  care  of  the  young.  The  care  of  the  pet  involves 
the  same  reasoning,  the  same  thinking  and  feeling  and 
willing  and  doing,  as  the  care  of  the  child.  Finally,  love 
of  nature  is  a  thing  of  slow  growth.  It  begins  when 
the  love  of  a  child  flows  out  toward  some  one  specific 
thing ;  it  gathers  force  when  something  else  is  loved, 
and  so  on  until  he  loves  so  many  things  and  has  come 
to  look  so  deeply  into  nature's  heart  that  he  feels  the 
love  of  all  nature.  This  is  a  result  worth  years  of  patient 
education. 

With  these  educational  values  in  view,  parents  would 
naturally  provide  for  their  children  pet  animals  suited  to 
their  ages  and  inclinations  so  far  as  possible,  and  they 
can  steady  and  assist  the  child  in  faithful  care  and  proper 
treatment. 

For  the  school,  the  main  point  of  interest  being  the  rela- 
tion between  the  child  and  pet,  we  must  begin  by  finding 


CHILDREN'S    ANIMALS    AND    PETS  ,    35 

out  what  animals  the  children  have.  This  may  be  done 
by  simply  asking  them  to  write  a  language  lesson  about 
their  pets,  in  which  each  tells  what  animals  he  has,  how 
he  cares  for  them,  and  what  he  does  with  them  or  how  he 
plays  with  them.  The  teacher  may  then  preserve  these 
for  future  reference,  and  during  the  nature-study  hour 
have  the  children  recite  about  them  in  order,  describing 
their  interests  in  the  pet,  its  character,  intelligence,  and 
disposition,  the  care  it  receives,  its  health,  and  cleanliness. 
One  after  the  other  the  children  might  be  invited  to 
bring  certain  kinds  of  pets  to  show  and  to  use  as  models 
for  drawing  lessons. 

Another  way  of  securing  a  statement  of  the  resources 
at  command  of  the  class  is  to  have  blanks  printed  with 
names  of  a  number  of  different  animals  and  ask  the  chil- 
dren to  fill  them  out  as  indicated.  A  form  is  here  given 
that  may,  of  course,  be  modified  in  any  way  to  adapt  it 
to  local  conditions. 

ANIMALS  AND  PETS  OWNED  BY  : 

Name School Grade Age 

Date 190    . 

The  pupil  will  please  draw  a  line  under  the  names  of  animals  that  he 
owns  and  indicate  the  number  of  each. 

Dog  Rabbit  Other  animals        Chicken  Frog 

Horse  Squirrel  Pigeon  Other  birds  Fish 

Cat  Rat  Canary  Toad  Turtle 

Lizard  Butterfly  Anything  else 

NOTE.  —  Please  write  a  short  description  of  your  animal,  giving  breed 
or  species,  if  known,  age,  size,  etc.,  and  state  who  takes  care  of  it  and 
what  care  it  receives  daily.  Add  anything  that  you  wish  to  tell  about  it, 
using  the  back  of  this  sheet,  if  necessary. 


36  NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 

With  the  papers  in  hand  the  teacher  sees  exactly  what 
the  resources  of  the  class  are  for  this  series  of  lessons  in 
the  zoology  work.  A  plan  may  then  be  made  that  shall 
bring  out  the  best  knowledge  the  children  have  about 
their  animals,  their  habits,  likes  and  dislikes,  foods,  care, 
uses,  etc.  If  the  class  is  well  supplied  with  pets,  the 
children  may  study  and  observe  them,  thus  learning  their 
lessons  from  the  living  realities  rather  than  from  books ; 
and,  as  just  intimated,  such  pets  as  are  not  likely  to 
cause  annoyance  and  disturb  the  school  may  be  brought 
in  during  some  of  the  lessons.  But,  in  general,  school- 
rooms are  not  adapted  for  keeping  animals,  and  even  a 
pigeon  or  a  rabbit  may  be  a  nuisance  when  thus  out  of 
place. 

It  is  not  intended  to  give  the  natural  history  of  each 
animal  pet  in  the  series,  and  great  care  must  be  taken 
not  to  allow  the  lessons  to  grow  dull  with  commonplaces 
that  everybody  knows,  or  run  off  into  details  of  technical 
and  superficial  interest  that  it  makes  no  difference  whether 
any  one  knows  or  not.  People  may  live  long  and  die  happy 
without  ever  having  lumbered  their  minds  up  with  such 
ideas  as  "a  chicken  has  three  eyelids,"  "a  dog  is  covered 
with  hair,"  "a  cat  has  five  toes  on  the  front  feet  and  four 
toes  on  the  hind  feet,"  and  so  on  ad  nauseam.  There  are 
plenty  of  common-sense,  valuable,  and  interesting  things 
to  be  learned  about  animals  to  occupy  the  time,  and  we 
may  leave  all  details  of  comparative  anatomy  to  special 
courses  in  colleges  or  medical  schools.  The  following  is 
intended  as  merely  suggestive  upon  the  more  important 
of  these  matters,  to  illustrate  the  point  of  view  rather 
than  to  give  a  complete  list.  The  resources  of  the 


CHILDREN'S    ANIMALS    AND    PETS  37 

children  and  the  common  sense  of  the  parent  or  teacher 
must  supply  the  rest. 

The  Dog.1  —  This  was  the  first  animal  domesticated  by 
man  and  the  only  animal  that  the  North  American  Indians 
had  tamed  before  settlement  of  the  country  by  Europeans. 
The  reasons  for  this  are  to  be  sought  in  the  character  of 
the  dog  and  in  his  value  to  man.  Let  the  children 
illustrate  from  their  own  pet  dogs  so  far  as  possible,  and 
from  observations  that  they  have  been  able  to  make  for 
themselves,  each  of  the  following  points:  fidelity  and 
love  for  master,  unselfish  devotion,  courage,  strength  and 
endurance,  intelligence  and  docility,  ability  and  willing- 
ness to  learn.  Study  the  dog's  work  in  the  hunt,  his 
keen  scent  and  ability  to  track  game,  his  speed  and 
endurance,  his  passionate  love  of  hunting  and  retriev- 
ing game;  the  shepherd  dog,  his  work  with  flocks 
and  herds ;  the  watch  dog.  The  following  topics  will 
appeal  to  the  children  more  strongly :  the  dog  as  a 
companion  and  playfellow ;  the  games  and  tricks  of 
dogs,  —  fetching  sticks  or  balls  when  thrown,  retrieving 
from  water,  drawing  sleds  and  carts,  sitting  up,  begging, 
speaking,  etc. 

Among  the  many  who  keep  dogs  but  few  know  how  to 
take  proper  care  of  them.  Most  people  overfeed,  thus 
allowing  the  dog  to  grow  fat,  lazy,  and  stupid.  For  an 
adult  dog  one  meal  a  day,  given  in  the  evening,  is  gener- 
ally better  than  two  or  three.  It  should  consist  of  dog 

1  Read  to  the  class  the  best  story  you  know  about  a  dog,  e.g.,  Castle 
Blair,  Shaw;  Helvellyn,  Scott;  Rab  and  his  Friends,  Dr.  John  Brown; 
Don,  J.  T.  fields  ;  To  Flush,  my  Dog,  Mrs.  Browning  ;  "  How  William  of 
Orange  was  saved  by  his  Dog,"  Motley's  Rise  of  the  Dutch  Republic. 


38  NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 

-biscuit  or  the  coarser  table  scraps,  bread  crusts,  brown 
bread,  oatmeal,  bones  with  not  too  much  meat,  and  vegeta- 
bles. In  severe  weather  or  with  much  exercise  in  the  open 
air  a  dog  needs  to  be  fed  oftener  and  to  have  more  food. 
The  best  indication  as  to  whether  the  feeding  is  proper 
is  the  condition  of  the  animal.  He  should  be  neither 
lean  nor  fat,  but  sleek.  One  should  be  able  to  take  up  a 
handful  of  soft,  loose  skin  anywhere  on  the  dog's  body. 
A  gnawing-bone  is  the  dog's  toothbrush,  and  he  should 
be  kept  well  supplied  at  all  times,  both  for  business  and 
amusement.  Too  much  meat  and  lack  of  cleanliness  is 
apt  to  give  rise  to  offensive  odors,  the  "doggy"  smell  of 
animals  not  properly  cared  for.  Fleas  are  the  great  bur- 
den of  a  dog's  life  (see  page  81,  under  insects).  To  kill 
every  flea  on  a  dog  it  is  necessary  only  to  lather  him 
completely  with  some  mild,  clean  soap,  castile  or  ivory, 
let  it  stay  on  for  two  or  three  minutes,  then  rinse  in 
clean  water  or  let  the  dog  take  a  swim.  A  dog  is  thus 
the  best  possible  flea  trap.  He  will  pick  up  every  flea 
in  the  house  or  neighborhood,  and  they  may  then  be 
easily  killed.  If  every  one  did  this,  which  is  no  less 
than  he  should  wish  to  do  for  the  health,  cleanliness,  and 
comfort  of  his  pets,  a  neighborhood  might  soon  be  rid 
of  these  pests.  For  other  matters  as  to  the  dog's  health 
and  care,  their  owners  should  be  referred  to  standard 
authorities. 

The  Horse.  — /Domesticated  before  the  dawn  of  history, 
probably  by  a  bVanch  of  the  Aryan  race  in  the  north  of 
Asia,  no  animal  has  exerted  a  more  powerful  influence 
in  human  progress,  either  in  war,  in  sports,  or  in  the  arts 
of  peace.  To  learn  to  control  and  ride  a  spirited  horse  is 


CHILDREN'S    ANIMALS    AND    PETS 


39 


an  education  in  itself  for  a  boy,  closely  associated  with 
one  of  the  greatest  lessons  in  the  nature  study  of  the 
race. 

Many  of  the  children  are  likely  to  have  more  or  less  to 
do  with  horses  in  connection  with  either  their  pleasure  or 
their  work,  and  the 
aim  of  these  lessons 
may  well  be  to  estab- 
lish a  fellow-feeling 
with  them  and  high 
ideals  as  to  their 
care  and  humane 
treatment.  We  may 
see  daily  instances 
of  misuse,  if  not  of 
actual  abuse,  which 
a  few  reasonable 
lessons  might  have 
prevented  ;  and  the 
object  at  which  such 
education  should 
aim  is  the  develop- 
ment of  general 

°  FIG.  8.     A  NOBLE  ANIMAL 

public    Sentiment.  (Photograph  by  Charles  Irving  Rice) 

To  this  end  lead  the 

children  to  observe  the  treatment  of  horses  in  the  neigh- 
borhood and  then  group  language  lessons  about  such 
topics  as  naturally  suggest  themselves.  Among  these 
will  be  :  care  and  feeding,  blanketing  in  bad  weather,  over- 
driving and  overworking.  Teach  the  law  of  your  state 
with  reference  to  cruelty  to  animals.  Have  the  children 


40  NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 

read  Black  Beauty.  How  much  time  is  devoted  to  these 
topics  must  depend  largely  on  local  conditions  and  on  the 
interests  and  resources  of  the  class. 

The  intelligent  and  humane  taming  of  so  powerful  an 
animal  is  perhaps  the  point  of  chief  interest.  We  often 
hear  of  "  breaking  "  a  horse  instead  of  "taming"  it,  and 
a  poor  spiritless  thing  is  apt  to  result.  The  best  story  in 
this  connection  is  the  following,  a  very  old  one  ;  but  it 
may  still  serve  as  an  inspiration  to  every  child  as  long  as 
horses  exist. 

Philonicus  of  Thessaly  had  offered  to  sell  Philip  his  horse 
Bucephalus  for  thirteen  talents.  So  they  all  went  down  into  the 
plain  to  try  the  animal.  He  proved,  however,  to  be  balky  and 
utterly  useless.  He  would  let  no  one  mount  him,  and  none  of  the 
attendants  of  Philip  could  make  him  hear  to  him,  but  he  violently 
resisted  them  all.  Philip,  in  his  disgust,  ordered  the  horse  led  away 
as  being  utterly  wild  and  untrained.  Whereat,  Alexander,  who  was 
present,  said :  "  That  is  too  good  a  horse  for  those  men  to  spoil  that 
way,  simply  because  they  have  njt  the  skill  or  the  grit  to  handle  him 
right."  At  first  Philip  paid  no  attention  to  him,  but  as  he  kept 
insisting  on  being  heard  and  seemed  greatly  disturbed  about  the 
matter,  his  father  said  to  him:  "What  do  you  mean  by  criticizing 
your  elders,  as  if  you  were  wiser  than  they,  or  knew  so  much  more 
about  handling  a  horse  than  they  do?  "  "  Well,  this  horse,  anyway, 
I  would  handle  better  than  any  one  else,  if  they  would  give  me  a 
chance."  "In  case  you  don't  succeed,"  rejoined  his  father,  "what 
penalty  are  you  willing  to  pay  for  your  freshness?"  "  I  '11  pay,  by 
Jove,  the  price  of  the  horse  !  "  Laughter  greeted  this  answer,  but 
after  some  bantering  with  his  father  about  the  money  arrangements, 
he  went  straight  to  the  horse,  took  him  by  the  bridle,  and  turned 
him  around  toward  the  sun.  This  he  did  on  the  theory  that  the 
horse's  fright  was  due  to  seeing  his  own  shadow  dance  up  and  down 
on  the  ground  before  him.  He  then  ran  along  by  his  side  awhile, 
patting  and  coaxing  him,  until,  after  a  while,  seeing  he  was  full  of 


CHILDREN'S    ANIMALS    AND    PETS  41 

fire  and  spirit  and  impatient  to  go,  he  quietly  threw  off  his  coat,  and 
swinging  himself  up,  sat  securely  astride  the  horse.  Then  he  guided 
him  about  for  a  while  with  the  reins,  without  striking  him  or  jerking 
at  the  bit.  When  now  he  saw  that  the  horse  was  getting  over  his 
nervousness  and  was  eager  to  gallop  ahead,  he  let  him  go,  driving 
him  on  with  a  sterner  voice  and  with  kicks  of  his  foot.  In  the  group 
of  onlookers  about  Philip  there  prevailed,  from  the  first,  the  silence 
of  intensely  anxious  concern.  But  when  the  boy  turned  the  horse 
and  came  galloping  up  to  them  with  pride  and  joy  in  his  face,  they 
all  burst  out  into  a  cheer.  His  father,  they  say,  shed  tears  for  very 
joy,  and,  as  he  dismounted,  kissed  him  on  the  head,  and  said  :  "  My 
son,  seek  thee  a  kingdom  suited  to  thy  powers  ;  Macedonia  is  too 
strait  for  thee." 

Bucephalus  became  from  this  time  the  property  and  the  insepa- 
rable companion  of  Alexander.  He  accompanied  him  on  his  cam- 
paigns, "sharing  many  toils  and  dangers  with  him,"  and  was  generally 
the  horse  ridden  by  him  in  battle.  No  one  else  was  ever  allowed 
to  mount  him,  as  Arrian  says,  "  because  he  deemed  all  other  riders 
unworthy."  He  is  reported  to  have  been  a  magnificent  black  charger 
of  extraordinary  size,  and  to  have  been  marked  with  a  white  spot  on 
the  forehead.  BENJAMIN  IDE  WHEELER,  Life  of  Alexander  the 
Great, 


—  This,  according  to  Shaler,  "  is  the  only  ani- 
mal that  has  been  tolerated,  esteemed,  and,  at  times, 
worshipped,  without  having  a  single  distinctly  valuable 
quality."  "  It  is,"  he  goes  on  to  say,  "  in  a  small  way, 
serviceable  in  keeping  down  the  excessive  development  of 
small  rodents,  which  from  the  beginning  have  been  the 
self-invited  guests  of  man.  As  it  is  in  a  certain  indiffer- 
ent way  sympathetic,  and  by  its  caresses  appears  to  indi- 
cate affection,  it  has  awakened  a  measure  of  sympathy 
which  it  hardly  deserves.  I  have  been  unable  to  find 
any  authentic  instances  which  go  to  show  the  existence 
in  cats  of  any  real  love  for  their  masters." 


42  NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 

Unlike  dogs,  cats  readily  return  to  a  wild,  or  semi-wild, 
life,  and  thus  become  a  menace  to  much  of  the  valuable 
and  interesting  nature  life  of  the  country,  game  birds  and 
animals,  and  even  to  poultry.  They  breed  in  great  num- 
bers in  cities,  where  their  lives  are,  for  the  most  part,  a 
prolonged  misery  both  to  themselves  and  the  community. 
Their  cries  at  night  are  the  most  disagreeable  sounds  we 
have  in  nature.  The  various  smells  that  mark  the  places 
they  infest  are  utterly  nauseating  and  intolerable. 

Cats  are  the  worst  enemies  of  our  common  birds.  Mr. 
Forbush  estimates  that  on  the  average  a  cat  kills  fifty 
song  birds  a  year,  and  he  has  known  of  a  single  cat 
destroying  six  bird's-nests  in  a  day.  In  most  states  the 
legislature  has  deemed  it  wise  to  pass  laws  imposing  fines1 
upon  those  who  kill  birds.  It  is  obviously  absurd  to  fine 
a  man  for  killing  one  bird  and  at  the  same  time  allow  him 
to  keep  a  cat  that  kills  fifty.  In  some  cities  in  Europe, 
where  every  effort  is  being  made  to  protect  the  birds, 
cats  are  considered  public  nuisances  if  allowed  to  run 
at  large.  People  who  wish  to  have  cats  must  confine 
them  within  their  own  premises,  both  by  day  and  night, 
because  numerous  cat  traps  are  continually  set  for  strays. 
While  not  inaugurating  a  crusade  against  cats  as  pets, 
the  lessons  in  nature  study  may  exert  some  influence 
toward  inducing  children  to  observe  what  cats  do  and 
possibly  to  keep  other  pets  so  far  as  possible.  Special 
attention  should  be  directed  toward  preventing  cats  from 
killing  birds  ;  abundant  feeding,  keeping  in  at  night  during 
nesting  time,  and  possibly  training,  may  prove  effective  in 

1  Maine,  $r  to  $10;  Massachusetts,  $10;  Indiana,  $10  to  $50;  Cali- 
fornia, $20  to  $500. 


CHILDREN'S    ANIMALS    AND    PETS  43 

some  cases.  Bells  worn  about  the  neck,  as  sometimes 
advocated,  may  save  now  and  then  an  old  bird,  but  not 
the  newly  hatched  nestlings  or  young  birds  that  are  not 
yet  wary  or  strong  enough  to  fly. 


FIG.  9.     TAMING  THE  PIGEONS 
(Photograph  by  J.  Chauncey  Lyford) 

Care  of  the  other  common  pets,  —  rabbits,  guinea  pigs, 
white  mice,  canaries,  pigeons,  chickens,  and  the  like,  — 
may  be  taken  up  in  series,  according  to  the  resources  of  the 
class.      Different  breeds  of  the  various  animals,  —  rabbits, 
pigeons,  chickens,  —  with  such  knowledge  as  the  children 


44 


NATURE    STUDY   AND    LIFE 


may  possess  of  their  comparative  merits,  will  furnish 
material  for  valuable  lessons.  Homing  pigeons  are  espe- 
cially interesting. 

(^Pets  out  of  the  common  run  will  prove  instructive.  A 
wild  bird  tamed  by  some  member  of  the  class,  a  tame 
toad,  frog,  newt,  turtle,  snake,  fish,  or  even  butterfly,  is  not 
only  interesting  because  of  its  rarity,  but  widens  human 
relations  toward  nature.  In  the  great  process  of  animal 
domestication,  in  which  we  have  made  so  little  advance 
in  the  last  four  thousand  years,  such  work  may  be  made 
to  constitute  the  crest  of  the  wave  of  human  effort,  in 
itself  the  most  interesting  thing  in  the  world. 


CHAPTER    IV 

PLAN  FOR   INSECT   STUDY 
METHODS  ;  MATERIALS  ;  INSECT  COLLECTIONS 

TEACHERS  ordinarily  feel  quite  at  a  loss  where  to 
begin  or  what  to  do  with  insects,  but  in  no  other  sub- 
ject should  they  feel  more  at  their  ease.  The  trouble 
has  been  that  (the  field  is  so  boundless  and  the  books 
so  technical  that  it  has  seemed  impossible  to  bring  it 
into  any  fruitful  relation  to  elementary  teaching.  But 
leaving  all  the  anatomy,  the  minutiae  of  structure  and 
classification  for  the  specialists,  and  taking  the  com- 
mon forms  alive  and  at  their  work,  no  study  furnishes 
more  fascinating  or  valuable  lessons.  We  shall  'have 
daily  to  say  "  I  don't  know,"  but  so  do  the  profes- 
sors of  entomology  who  have  done  nothing  but  study 
insects  all  their  lives  ;  or,  since  some  teachers  have  not 
yet  learned  the  value  of  saying  "  I  don't  know,"  let  them 
play  ball  with  the  questions. 

In  an  elementary  course  the  aim  should  be  to  learn 
what  every  one  ought  to  know  about  a  few  of  the  most 
important  insects,  and,  for  this  purpose,  we  may  study 
them  in  the  following  groups  : 


1.  Insects  of  the  household.  3.  Insects  of  field  and  forest. 

2.  Insects  of  the  garden.  4.  Beneficial  insects. 

5.  Insects  beautiful  and  interesting. 
45 


46  NATURE    STUDY   AND    LIFE 

On  the  side  of  injury  and  damage  to  man,  it  has  been 
calculated  that  insects  about  equally  divide  the  produce 
of  the  soil  with  the  farmer,  professor  Riley  estimated 
that  insects  destroy  annually  from  $300,000,000  to  $400,- 
000,000  worth  of  produce  in  this  country  alone.  ")  These 


FIG.  10.      PROMETHEA  JUST  EMERGED 

figures  were  given  twenty  years  ago  and  are  low,  as  we 
shall  see,  when  we  study  the  ravages  of  single  insect 
species. 

The  beneficent  work  of  insects  consists  in   practically 
creating    by  cross-pollination  our  beautiful  and  fragrant 


PLAN    P^OR    INSECT    STUDY 


47 


FIG.  11.     EGGS  OF  ANTIOPA  BUTTERFLY 


flowers  and  most  valuable  varieties  of  fruits.)  So  important 

is  this  great   work  that  the  question  continually  arises  : 

Might  we  not  be  doing  harm  if  we  reduce  the  numbers 

of  insects  too  much?     Its 

practical  answer  must  be 

sought  in  a  study  of  each 

species  of  insect,  but  it  is 

safe  to  say  that  as  most 

of    the    injurious    kinds 

do    little    or    no    good, 

destruction    of    them  is 

the  only  problem.     It  is 

also  a  wonderful  coincidence  that   the  most  useful  and 

benign  of  all  insects,  the  honeybee,  is  practically  sufficient 

for  the  work  of  cross- 
pollination  of  fruits 
and  flowers. 

Methods  of  insect 
destruction  have  run 
of  late  years  toward 
the  use  of  poisons  and 
spray  pumps.  These 
are  expensive  and 
laborious,  and  a  ride 
through  the  country 
in  any  direction  will 
convince  the  unpreju- 
diced observer  that 
these  methods  are 

inadequate  to  the  task.      One  man  may  rid  his  garden  of 

insect  pests  only  to  have  it  restocked  from  his  neighbors' 


FIG.  12. 


LARVA  OF  CECROPIA  REARED  FROM 
THE  EGG 

(Length,  3^  inches) 


NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 


across  the  way,  and  soon  he  gives  up  the  fight.  We  need 
rather  to  study  how  to  make  the  most  of  the  far  more 
powerful  and  universal  agencies  of  living  nature,  the 
natural  enemies  of  various  insect  species;  and  with  an 
intelligent  public  educated  about  these  problems  and  all 
working  together,  many  of  the  worst  insect  ravages  may 

be    easily    and    speedily 
abated. 

First,  as  to  a  few 
simple  terms  :f  By  the  life 
history,  or  the  life  story, 
of  an  animal,  we  mean 
all  the  changes  it  goes 
through  and  all  that  it 
does  from  the  time  it 
hatches  from  the  egg,  or 
is  born,  until  it  dies  of 
old  age.*)  Most  insect 
eggs  hatch  out  into  some- 

FIG.  13.     CHRYSALIS  OF  CECROPIA  IN         thing    quite     unlike    the 

CocoON  parent.     This  is  called  a 

(4  natural  size)  « larva."      The   larvae   of 

flies  are  often  called  "  maggots,"  those  of  beetles,  "grubs," 
and  those  of  moths  and  butterflies,  "caterpillars."  After- 
feeding  actively  and  shedding  its  skin  from  five  to  twenty 
times  as  it  grows,  the  larva  passes  into  its  third  stage,  the 
"  pupa."  To  outward  appearances  this  is  a  quiescent  stage, 
the  insect  being  incased  in  a  hard  shell,  but  inwardly  active 
changes  of  form  are  going  on.  The  pupa  of  a  butterfly  is 
often  called  a  "  chrysalis."  After  the  internal  rearrange- 
ments have  been  made  and  the  proper  time  has  arrived,  the 


PLAN    FOR    INSECT    STUDY 


49 


pupa  case  is  split  open  on  the  back,  and  the  adult  insect 
emerges ;  the  fourth  and  last  stage  begins.  The  adult 
female  lays  the  eggs,  and  the  life  story  from  egg  around 
to  egg  again  is  completed.  This  change  of  form  in  insects 
is  called  "metamorphosis." 

A  few  insects  hatch  out  from  the  egg  more  nearly  like 
their  parents  in 
form.  Children 
will  notice  this 
in  the  case  of 
their  grasshop- 
per or  water-bug 
eggs.  Insects 
that  do  not 
thus  completely 
change  their 
form  are  said 
to  present  an 
incomplete 
metamorphosis, 
and  the  young 
in  all  stages  are  called  "  nymphs "  instead  of  larvae. 

With  our  insect  enemies  it  is  important  to  learn  the 
whole  life  story  in  order  to  find  the  weakest  point,  at  which 
we  may  most  easily  attack  and  destroy  them.  We  shall 
endeavor  always  to  point  this  out  for  the  insects  described, 
but  it  will  be  possible  to  give  only  a  few  which  happen  to 
be  of  greatest  importance  at  present  in  order  to  illustrate 
a  method  for  insect  nature  study.  The  best  rule  to  follow 
is  to  study  the  insects  that  happen  to  be  of  most  impor- 
tance or  of  greatest  interest  for  any  locality  or  season. 


FIG.  14.    ADULT  CECROPIA  ON  COCOON 
(2  natural  size) 


50  NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 

Until  we  have  the  country  much  fuller  of  birds  and  other 
insectivorous  animals  than  it  is,  we  may  expect  to  have 
storms  of  different  kinds  of  insects.  It  may  be  grass- 
hoppers or  crickets  or  army  worms  or  plant  lice  or  June 
beetles  or  caterpillars  of  a  hundred  kinds.  We  never 
can  tell  what  will  come  next,  so,  while  the  following  are 
described  as  probably  of  greatest  importance  at  present 
and  for  some  time  to  come,  we  must  not  be  too  much 
influenced  by  a  formal  list,  but  keep  our  minds  open  to 
study  nature  as  it  flows  by  and  be  ever  ready  to  do  the 
thing  that  is  most  worth  our  while. 

Apparatus  and  Methods.  —  The  first  thing  to  provide  is 
something  to  catch  insects  with,  the  insect  net.  This 
may  be  easily  made  by  taking  a  piece  of  No.  12  spring 
brass  wire  four  or  five  feet  long.  Bend  it  into  a  round 
loop  about  a  foot  in  diameter,  crossing  the  wire  six  inches 
from  the  ends  and  giving  it  two  firm  twists.  Next, 
clamping  it  tightly  against  a  small  iron  rod  or  round 
stick  in  a  vise,  wind  the  ends  closely  around  the  rod  into 
a  spiral.  You  now  have  a  convenient  frame  into  which 
any  stick  can  be  screwed  for  a  handle.  The  net  may  be 
made  from  three-quarters  of  a  yard  of  cotton  tulle  or  light 
cheese  cloth  sewed  into  a  bag  rounded  at  the  bottom  and 
just  as  large  as  the  frame  at  the  top.  It  lasts  longer  if 
a  narrow  border  of  sheeting  to  cover  the  wire  is  stitched 
around  the  top.  The  bag  should  be  a  little  more  than 
twice  as  deep  as  the  frame  is  wide,  so  as  to  lap  over  and 
close  well  when  an  insect  is  caught.  It  is  lively  work  catch- 
ing insects,  and  no  one  piece  of  nature-study  apparatus  will 
give  a  child  more  exercise  in  the  fresh  air  and  better  train- 
ing of  eye  and  hand  than  an  insect  net.  Nothing  will 


PLAN    FOR    INSECT    STUDY  51 

secure  for  him  such  an  inexhaustible  supply  of  material  for 
study,  and  every  boy  and  girl  should  have  one  of  his  own. 
To  preserve  your  insect,  you  must  first  kill  it  without 
injury,  and  this  is  best  done  with  a  cyanide  bottle.  Get  a 
wide-mouthed  bottle  and  a  good  cork  to  fit  it  tightly.  In 
the  bottom  put  an  ounce  of  potassium  cyanide  broken  into 


FIG.  15.     MAKING  THE  INSECT  NET 

lumps  not  larger  than  a  filbert ;  add  sawdust  a  little  more 
than  enough  to  cover  the  largest  lumps  and  pour  in  plaster 
of  Paris,  mixed  to  the  consistency  of  thick  cream,  to  form 
a  layer  a  quarter  of  an  inch  thick.  The  plaster  will 
harden  in  a  few  minutes,  and  an  insect  dropped  in  and 
corked  up  will  die  almost  instantly  and  without  injury  or 
apparent  suffering.  What  kills  the  insect  is  the  fumes 


NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 


of  the  cyanide  coming  through  the  plaster  and  saturating 
the  air  within  the  bottle  ;  hence  avoid  breathing  any  of 
these  fumes  yourself  and  keep  the  bottle  tightly  corked  at 
all  times.  The  cyanide  is  a  deadly  poison,  and  the  fact 
that  it  is  a  harmless-looking  white  substance,  not  unlike 
lump  sugar  or  rock  salt  and  many  other  things,  renders 
it  one  of  the  most  dangerous  poisons  to  keep  about  the 

house.  Label  the  bottle  as  in 
Fig.  1 6.  Such  a  bottle  will  remain 
good  for  a  season.  If  moisture 
collects  in  it,  wipe  dry  with  blot- 
ting paper  or  a  soft  cloth. 

Insects  may  also  be  killed  with 
chloroform.  If  this  is  preferred, 
get  an  ounce  of  it  in  a  flat  vial ; 
stick  the  handle  of  a  small  cairiel's- 
hair  brush  into  the  bottom  of  the 
cork,  and,  holding  the  insect  in  a 
fold  of  the  net,  apply  a  drop  to 
each  side  (for  insects  breathe 
through  a  row  of  minute  holes 
along  the  sides),  and  it  dies 
instantly. 

On  a  collecting  trip  you  will 
also    need    strips   of    newspaper, 
in    which    the    insects    may    be 
neatly  folded   without   breaking   the   wings  or  legs. 

Insects  are  mounted  in  a  number  of  ways.  The  com- 
mon method  is  to  pin  them  in  a  large  tray  provided 
with  a  sheet-cork  bottom  and  glass  top;  but  these  trays 
or  cases  are  expensive  and  cannot  be  recommended  for 


FIG.  16.     CYANIDE  BOTTLE 


PLAN    FOR    INSECT    STUDY  53 

school  collections.  Another  way,  after  the  insect  has 
been  properly  "stretched,"  or  "spread,"  is  to  mount  per- 
manently in  the  depression  of  a  block  of  plaster  of  Paris, 
a  plate  of  glass  just  fitting  the  plaster  block  being 
fastened  with  gummed  paper,  as  a  cover.  Most  moths 
and  butterflies  in  our  large  museums  are  now  mounted  in 


FIG.  17.     WALKING  STICKS 
Male,  female,  and  eggs.     (To  show  method  of  mounting) 

this  way  for  exhibition.      This  method  has  the  disadvan- 
tage of  allowing  only  one  side  to  be  seen. 

The  method  here  advocated,  which,  I  think,  will  super- 
sede all  others  when  its  advantages  come  to  be  prop- 
erly understood,  consists  in  simply  inclosing  the  insect 
between  two  plates  of  glass.1  Since  our  method  of  spread- 
ing insects  depends  upon  properly  exhibiting  them  in  this 
way,  I  will  describe  it  in  this  connection. 

1  I  am  indebted  for  this  method  of  mounting  insects  for  school  collec- 
tions to  Miss  Martha  F.  Goddard,  who  found  it  in  use  in  the  Swiss  schools 
and  kindly  described  it  to  me. 


54  NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 

Take  two  rectangular  plates  of  glass  of  the  same  size, 
large  enough  for  your  specimen,  or  specimens,  for  this 
method  is  admirably  adapted  for  life-story  collections. 
Cut  a  strip  of  thin  wood  as  wide  as  the  thickness  of  your 
largest  specimen,  —  berry-box  or  cigar-box  wood  is  good, 
—  brush  over  one  side  with  ink  to  blacken  it,  and,  with 
glue  or  shellac,  stick  the  wood  around  the  edges  of  one  of 
the  glass  plates.  You  now  have  a  box  with  glass  bottom 
and  wooden  sides  as  deep  as  your  thickest  specimen. 
Arrange  your  specimens  in  order :  egg  cluster ;  single 
egg ;  larvae  of  increasing  sizes ;  moulted  skins,  if  you  have 
them;  pupae,  male  and  female;  cocoons;  pupae  cases,  from 
which  the  insects  have  emerged ;  leaves  eaten  by  the 
larvae ;  male  and  female  adult  insect.  Fasten  in  place 
with  minute  drops  of  glue  where  the  specimen  touches 
the  glass,1  and,  if  desired,  glue  a  neat  label  under  each 
specimen,  giving  perhaps  the  date  of  the  different  proc- 
esses represented.  Put  the  other  glass  on  for  a  cover  and 
glue  a  strip  of  black  paper  or  passe-partout  around  the  edge 
of  the  whole  just  wide  enough  to  hide  the  wooden  frame.2 
You  now  have  a  series  of  specimens  that  tell  the  story  of 
an  insect's  life  from  beginning  to  end  in  its  reality. 
You  can  see  both  sides  of  your  insects,  —  head,  mouth 
parts,  legs,  feet,  wings, — all  equally  well.3 

1  Glue  sometimes  dries  so  hard  that  it  scales  off  the  glass.     To  pre- 
vent this  I  add  to  an  ounce  bottle  about  twenty  drops  of  glycerine. 

2  The  ordinary  passe-partout  paper,  used  for  mounting  photographs,  is 
about  the  right  width  for  most  cases.     Since  these  collections  are  designed 
to  be  handled  by  children  freely,  black  is  the  proper  color. 

3  Insects  are  often  marked  and  colored  differently  above  and  below,  so 
that   this  is  no  small  matter  in  deciding  on  a  method  of  preparation  for 
imparting  clear  and  complete  conceptions  to  children. 


PLAN    FOR    INSECT    STUDY 


55 


As  scrap  glass,  broken  glass  of  all  sizes,  and  old  photo- 
graphic negatives1  can  be  utilized  in  this  way,  the  cost, 
either  to  the  children  or  the  school,  for  mounting  a  good 
working  collection  of  insects  need  be  practically  nothing, 
not  even  the  price  of  insect  pins. 

Spreading.  —  As  we  have  now  a  clear  idea  of  what  we  wish 
to  do  with  our  insects,  the  matter  of  spreading  —  arrang- 
ing wings  and  legs  so  that  they  will  show  what  we  wish 


FIG.  18.     NEW  METHOD  OF  SPREADING  INSECTS 

to  see  —  becomes  one  of  ordinary  common  sense.  While 
the  specimen  is  flexible,  simply  arrange  the  parts  and  have 
them  held  as  you  wish  until  they  dry.  We  will  study 
natural  positions  of  the  various  insects  and  set  the  parts 
accordingly. 

Since  we  do  not  mount  insects  in  the  old  way,  we  do  not 
need  the  minute  and  technical  apparatus  and  materials 
usually  described  for  this  work.  All  that  is  required  is 

1  Waste  negatives  are  the  best  glass  obtainable,  thin,  clear,  and  free 
from  bubbles.  The  films  may  be  easily  removed  by  hot  water  in  which  a 
little  sal  soda  or  other  alkali  has  been  dissolved. 


56  NATURE    STUDY   AND    LIFE 

some  thin  boards  or  cards,  cigar-box  wood  or  grape-basket 
covers,  and  a  few  pins,  or  better,  fine  needles  mounted 
in  match  sticks.1 

To  spread  a  butterfly  or  moth  lay  it  on  its  back  on 
the  board  and  stick  a  pair  of  pins,  one  each  side  of  the 
body,  between  the  thorax  and  abdomen.  If  necessary, 
insert  a  second  pair  at  the  neck  or  in  front  of  the  wings. 
Bring  the  wings  down  flat  on  the  board,  move  the  fore 
wings  to  their  natural  position,  and  lay  on  bits  of  glass, 
one  on  each  side  to  hold  them,  and  to  press  them  smooth 
and  flat  while  they  dry.  To  arrange  the  legs  have  a 
little  piece  of  berry  box,  cut  as  in  the  figure,  or  two  nar- 
row strips,  mounted  on  a  pin  ;  bring  it  down  over  the 
insect,  just  the  right  height  to  suit  the  length  of  its 
legs,  and  with  a  mounted  needle  arrange  the  feet  upon 
it  in  their  natural  positions.  See  that  the  feelers  are  in 
good  position,  setting  a  pin  against  them  to  hold  them 
until  they  dry.  Possibly  you  will  wish  to  uncoil  the 
tongue  and  pin  that  out.  Dragon  flies,  hellgrammites, 
bumblebees,  and  other  large  winged  insects  may  be  spread 
on  their  backs  in  the  same  way.  To  mount  butterflies 
with  wings  closed  over  the  back  you  will,  of  course,  place 
them  feet  down,  but  it  will  be  well  to  let  them  rest  with  the 
body  on  the  board,  as  the  legs  will  be  too  fragile  to  support 
the  weight  when  they  become  dry. 

Beetles,  bugs,  grasshoppers  and  crickets,  ants,  flies, 
spiders,  etc.,  are  easily  spread,  feet  down,  in  natural  posi- 
tions (Fig.  14).  Some  of  the  smaller  and  stouter  ones 

1  While  we  do  not  use  pins  to  stick  through  the  insects,  insect  pins  are 
good  to  use  for  holding  the  parts  in  place  while  they  dry.  A  package  of 
pne  hundred,  assorted  sizes,  costs  but  fifteen  cents. 


PLAN    FOR    INSECT    STUDY  57 

may  be  able  to  stand  on  their  dried  legs,  but  it  will  gen- 
erally be  safer  to  mount  them,  with  the  aid  of  a  drop 
of  glue,  so  that  the  thorax  will  touch  the  glass.  If  it  be 
desired  to  have  them  stand  higher,  glue  a  little  post  of 
the  right  length,  —  a  bit  of  broom,  splint,  or  cork,  —  to  the 
thorax,  or  thrust  a  point  of  a  toothpick  (dipped  in  ink) 
into  the  thorax  from  below  and  cut  it  off  as  high  as  you 
wish  the  insect  to  stand,  and  glue  this  to  the  glass  of 
the  permanent  case.  With  beetles  and  grasshoppers  it  is 
well  to  raise  one  wing  cover  so  that  the  wing  below  may 
be  seen. 

Caterpillars  and  grubs  and  larvae  of  various  sorts  may 
be  mounted  in  several  ways.  First,  to  prepare  dried 
skins  lay  the  dead  caterpillar  on  a  blotter,  and  using  a 
lead  pencil  for  a  roller,  begin  at  the  head  and  gently  roll 
the  viscera  out.  The  flattened  skin  may  then  either  be 
pressed  as  we  would  a  flower,  until  it  is  dry,  or  inflated 
with  a  blowpipe  and  dried  over  a  lamp.1  If  the  larva 
is  green,  it  will  turn  yellow  in  drying,  and  the  color  may 
be  imitated  by  shaking  into  it  a  little  green  chalk  or  Paris 
green.  Mosquito  wrigglers  and  similar  larvae  may  be 
allowed  simply  to  dry  on  the  glass  of  the  mounting  case  in 

1  The  blowpipe  for  this  purpose  is  made  from  a  small  glass  tube  drawn 
to  a  moderately  fine  point,  three  or  four  inches  long.  Slip  over  the  open 
end  a  piece  of  small  rubber  tubing  about  a  foot  long,  for  a  mouthpiece. 
By  cutting  off  the  intestine  about  a  quarter  of  an  inch  behind  the  body 
and  blowing  sharply  at  the  cut,  it  will  open  up,  and  the  whole  caterpillar 
will  be  inflated ;  keep  blowing  and  slip  the  intestine  over  the  end  of  the 
blowpipe;  it  will  soon  stick  fast  to  the  glass,  and  by  holding  it  over 
a  lamp,  high  enough  not  to  scorch,  and  keeping  it  inflated,  the  skin  will  dry 
in  a  few  minutes.  If  the  blowing  is  too  tiresome,  the  blowpipe  may  be 
attached  to  a  "  dying  pig  "  or  a  toy  rubber  balloon,  the  inflation  of  which 
will  keep  up  a  constant  pressure  until  the  skin  is  dry. 


58  NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 

the  place  where  it  is  desired  to  have  them.  White,  soft 
larvae,  grubs,  apple  worms,  or  maggots  may  be  preserved 
whole  in  75  per  cent  alcohol  (alcohol  to  which  one- 
fourth  water  has  been  added),  or  better,  if  obtainable, 
5  per  cent  formalin,  in  small  vials  with  the  corks  sealed 
with  wax.1 

If  the  specimens  become  stiff  or  too  dry,  they  require 
relaxing  before  they  can  be  spread.  This  is  done  by 
leaving  them  in  a  tight  box  —  I  use  a  small  aquarium, 
but  a  tin  pail  or  box  will  do  as  well  —  with  about  two 
inches  of  moist  sand  in  the  bottom.  Lay  a  paper  over 
the  sand  to  prevent  injury  to  delicate  specimens,  and  if 
mould  appears,  light  two  or  three  sulphur  matches  and 
let  them  burn  in  the  closed  box,  or  pour  in  a  few  drops 
of  strong  formalin  or  carbolic  acid.  It  will  take  from  an 
hour  to  a  day,  or  even  more,  to  relax  an  insect,  according 
to  its  size  and  dryness.  The  softening  may  be  hastened 
by  moderate  warming  and  is  retarded  by  cold.  If  a  leg 
or  antenna  is  broken,  it  may  be  mended  with  a  touch  of 
white  shellac. 

Very  small  insects, — gnats,  fleas,  lice,  newly  hatched 
larvae,  etc.,  —  can  be  mounted  by  simply  gluing  them  to 
the  glass,  with  no  attempt  to  spread.2 

The  dried  specimens  should  be  placed  in  their  perma- 
nent positions  in  the  glass  mounting  cases  and  sealed  up 
as  speedily  as  practicable  to  insure  them  against  attacks 

1  Instead,  these  specimens  may  be  easily  sealed  in  glass  tubes,  making 
neat  and  permanent  mounts. 

2  Many  of   these  minute    insects   may  be  mounted  beautifully  on   an 
ordinary  microscopic  slide,  and  the  whole  life  story  be  brought  under  a 
single  cover  slip. 


PLAN    FOR    INSECT    STUDY  59 

of  museum  pests.  The  one  especially  to  be  feared  is  a 
minute  beetle,  Anthrenus,  that  feeds,  both  in  the  larval 
and  adult  state,  upon  such  dry  animal  substances  as 
museum  'specimens.  This  is  the  insect  pest  that  reduces 
practically  every  uncared-for  specimen  to  a  heap  of  brown 
dust.  Heretofore  it  has  made  the  gathering  of  biological 
school  collections  almost  impossible.  A  class  leaves  a 
fine  collection  in  the  cabinet  at  the  end  of  the  spring 
term,  only  to  find  it  dust  in  the  fall,  and  the  teacher  and 
school  are  naturally  discouraged.  Specimens  promptly 
sealed  up  in  the  way  just  described  have  already  stood  the 
test  of  several  years,  but  we  cannot  tell  when  Anthrenus 
may  have  laid  its  eggs  on  a  specimen,  and  we  must  watch 
for  the  first  indications  of  its  presence,  —  fine  brown  dust 
on  and  underneath  the  insect.  If  this  be  seen,  drill  a 
small  hole  through  the  wooden  frame  of  the  mounting 
case,  and  with  a  pipette,  with  the  point  drawn  out  to  a 
fine  tube,  insert  a. drop  of  carbon  bisulphide.  Plug  the 
hole  immediately,  and  its  contents  will  be  safe  forever 
after.1 

With  the  above  suggestions  any  class  in  nature  study 
may  easily  begin  a  permanent  collection  of  insect  life 
stories  that  will  be  an  invaluable  aid  in  instruction  and 
grow  in  excellence  and  completeness  for  the  important 
insects  of  the  neighborhood  from  year  to  year.  The  col- 
lection should  be  kept  in  the  dark,  except  when  in  use, 
to  prevent  fading  of  specimens,  and  it  may  be  packed 
in  small  space  in  a  drawer  or  box.  The  mounting  cases 
should  be  labeled  on  one  end  with  the  name  of  the  insect 

1 1  have  never  been  obliged  to  do  this,  but  give  it  as  a  suggestion  to 
those  who  may  be  troubled  by  museum  pests. 


6o 


NATURE    STUDY   AND    LIFE 


contained  in  it,  and  also  with  that  of  the  child  or  class 
that  contributes  it  to  the  school  collection. 

It  is  not  intended,  however,  to  allow  the  use  of  these 
collections  to  degenerate  to  the  museum  method*of  study- 
ing insects.  Each  life-story  collection  should  be  made 
merely  the  starting  point,  —  a  means  of  imparting  clear 
ideas  as  to  just  what  insect  to  look  for  in  beginning 


FIG.   i>      BEGINNING  OF    A  NATURE-STUDY  INSECT  COLLECTION 

the  study  of  the  active  life  and  work  of  the  species  in 
the  infinite  museum  of  nature  always  present  about  our 
homes. 

In  case  it  is  undesirable  to  make  insect  collections,  drawings, 
preferably  colored,  may  be  made  illustrating  each  step. 

For  the  study  of  insects  alive  in  the  schoolroom,  vivaria  or  aquaria 
described  in  Chapter  XXIV  may  be  used.  If  these  are  not  at  hand, 
a  good  substitute  for  this  purpose  may  be  made  by  replacing  the 
cover  of  a  cigar  box  (a  chalk  box  or  even  one  of  pasteboard  will  do) 
with  a  pane  of  glass.  These  latter  have  proved  most  serviceable. 
Each  child  should  have  one  on  his  desk,  where  he  can  feed  his 


PLAN    FOR    INSECT    STUDY  6l 

insects  and  watch  them  grow  and  pass  through  their  various  moults 
and  transformations. 

In  the  fall  the  different  cabbage  worms  will  prove  instructive 
material  for  study,  as  they  pass  rapidly  through  their  various  trans- 
formations. Many  of  the  specimens  collected  at  this  time  will  have 
been  parasitized,  and  the  emergence  of  the  parasites  from  their  host 
will  afford  a  valuable  lesson  on  the  work  of  beneficial  insects. 

Many  cocoons  are  likely  to  be  brought  in  during  tbe 
fall  and  winter.  A  good  disposition  of  these  is  to  have 
each  pupil  fasten  his  collection  on  a  card  and  arrange  the 
cards  as  a  frieze  over  the  blackboards  around  the  room. 
When  a  moth  is  seen  emerging,  the  card  may  be  taken 
down  and  the  whole  process  watched. 


GENERAL  BOOKS  OF  REFERENCE 

COMSTOCK,  A  Manual  for  the  Study  of  Insects,  701  pp.;  797 
illustrations.  1895.  —  The  best  general  book  of  reference;  rather 
advanced  for  grade  school  work. 

BELLE  S.  CRAGIN,  Our  Insect  Friends  and  Foes,  377  pp. ;  255 
figures. 

WEED,  Life  Histories  of  American  Insects,  272  pp.  ;  94  figures. 


CHAPTER    V 

INSECTS    OF   THE   HOUSEHOLD 

Flies. — These  are  the  commonest  and  often  the  most 
annoying  insects  we  have.  We  are  obliged  to  screen  our 
windows  and  doors  to  keep  them  out.  They  flyspeck 
everything  they  can  get  at,  crawl  over  our  food,  fall  into 
our  milk  and  cream,  lay  their  eggs,  flyblow  our  meats 
and  fruits  and  other  foods.  There  are  hundreds  of  dif- 
ferent kinds  of  flies.  Little  flies  and  gnats,  so  small  we 
can  hardly  see  them,  never  grow  to  be  big  flies.  They 
are  all  different  kinds. 

The  question  is,  How  can  we  get  rid  of  the  three  or 
four  troublesome  kinds  that  infest  our  houses  ?  In  order 
to  answer  this  question,  we  must  learn  their  life  histories. 
The  picture  below  gives  the  four  stages  in  the  life  of 
every  fly  :  the  egg,  larva  or  maggot,  the  pupa,  and  fly. 

The  common  house  fly,  Musca  domes tica,  lays  its  eggs 
in  horse  manure  and  dooryard  filth.  How  many  eggs  one 
fly  may  lay  is  not  known,  nor  how  long  a  fly  may  live. 
A  fly  has  been  known  to  deposit  as  many  as  forty-five 
eggs  in  a  single  night,  and  she  probably  lays  hundreds  or 
possibly  a  thousand  during  her  lifetime.  The  eggs,  as  we 
know  from  Dr.  Packard's  studies,  hatch  in  about  one  day, 
the  larvas  grow  for  five  to  seven  days,  and  the  pupal 
stage  is  also  from  five  to  seven  days.  Thus  in*  ten  to 
fourteen  days  a  generation  of  flies  may  be  produced,  and 

62 


INSECTS    OF    THE    HOUSEHOLD 


we  see  why  it  is  that  from  a  very  few  individuals  in  early 
spring  we  may  have  swarms  of  flies  by  midsummer. 

The  stable  fly,  Stomoxys  calcitrans,  is  commonly  mis- 
taken for  the  house  fly,  which  it  closely  resembles,  but 
differs  from  it  in  having  its  mouth  parts  formed  for 
piercing  the  skin.  Its  bite  is  painful,  and  while  it  is  not 
poisonous,  it  may  carry  disease  from  animal  to  animal  or 
even  to  man.  We  often  see  horses,  cattle,  and  dogs  sur- 
rounded by  swarms  of  these 
flies,  and,  aside  from  the 
actual  suffering  and  annoy- 
ance they  cause,  they  must 
occasion  the  loss  of  pounds 


a 


FIG.  20.     HOUSE  FLY 
a->  eSS  ;  &,  larva  or  mag§ot  5  f,  pupa  case,  or  puparium ;  d,  adult 


(All  enlarged) 


of  flesh  and  gallons  of  blood  and  milk  during  a  season. 
These  flies  probably  lay  their  eggs  on  manure,  and  with 
this  covering  our  fields  and  pastures,  we  shall  not  be  able 
to  prevent  them  from  breeding  in  the  country.  In  cities 
stable  pits  may  often  be  made  fly  proof  with  but  little 
additional  expense. 

The  bluebottle  fly,  Calliphora  ctythrocephala,  is  a  third 
species  that  children  can  readily  learn.  It  breeds  in 
decaying  animal  matter.  If  a  fish  head  or  a  piece  of 


64  NATURE    STUDY   AND    LIFE 

fresh  meat  be  exposed  for  an  hour  in  warm  weather,  it 
will  generally  be  found  to  have  masses  of  whitish-yellow 
eggs  on  it  of  the  bluebottle,  or  blow,  fly. 

It  is  not  intended  that  children  shall  make  breeding 
experiments  with  flies.  Such  disagreeable  work  may  be 
left,  in  general,  for  specialists,  but  the  two  lessons  that 
every  child  should  learn  are  that  filth  of  various  sorts 
breeds  flies  and  that  in  spite  of  the  best  we  can  do  in 
keeping  our  premises  clean,  we  need  the  help  of  insectiv- 
orous animals.  Ask  children  to  study  what  the  swallows 
are  doing  when  circling  about  a  herd  of  cattle,  what  the 
phoebe  and  kingbird  do  when  they  dart  from  their  perch 
and  you  hear  their  bills  snap.  What  other  birds  eat 
flies  ?  Let  some  child  who  has  a  tame  bat  see  how  many 
flies  it  will  eat.  The  writer  had  one  that  ate  243  at  a 
meal,  but  it  died  soon  after.  Let  the  children  watch  the 
toads  about  the  back  doorstep  to  see  how  many  flies  one 
of  them  may  eat  in  a  day.  One  little  girl  the  writer 
knows  counted  while  a  toad  snapped  up  128  flies  within 
a  half  hour.  A  tree  frog  is  a  most  interesting  pet  and  a 
wonderful  flytrap. 

Mosquitoes.  —  These  insects  furnish  a  great  field  for  out- 
door study,  careful  observation,  and  experiment.  There 
are  thirty  different  species  described  for  North  America 
(for  the  more  complete  study  of  which  refer  to  Bulletin 
No.  2$,  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture).  It  is, 
however,  only  necessary  to  know  the  life  story  of  any  one 
kind  to  do  efficient  and  valuable  work.  The  eggs  may  be 
found  at  any  time  in  warm  weather  on  the  surface  of  stag- 
nant water ;  they  hatch  generally  in  the  afternoon  of  the 
same  day  they  are  laid  and  pass  their  larval  and  pupal 


INSECTS    OF    THE    HOUSEHOLD  65 

stages,  known  as  "  wrigglers,"  in  the  water,  and  in  from 
seven  to  fourteen  days,  according  to  weather,  emerge  as 
adult  mosquitoes.  A  female  may  lay  from  200  to  400 
eggs.  A  good  example  in  arithmetic  is  the  following: 

Suppose  a  mosquito  lays  200  eggs,  one-half  of  which 
hatch  females,  and  these  each  lay  200  eggs,  and  so  on, 
calling  the  time  for  a  generation  ten  days ;  how  many 
mosquitoes  would  there  be  after  180  days,  i.e.,  in  the 


FIG.  21.    FEMALE  MOSQUITO 

eighteenth  generation?  The  answer  is  2,000,000,000,000,- 
000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,  one-half  of  which 
may  be  males. 

In  one  month  a  single  female  mosquito  may  thus  give 
rise  to  from  1,010,100  to  2,020,000  female  mosquitoes, 
—  quite  enough  to  stock  a  good-sized  city. 

Lessons  on  mosquitoes  may  be  undertaken  at  any  sea- 
son of  the  year,  but  are  especially  valuable  after  warm 
weather  begins  in  spring, — April  or  May  for  most  parts 
of  this  country.  A  lesson  or  two  in  winter  will  prove 
instructive  in  discovering  how  mosquitoes  pass  this  sea- 
son. The  children  should  then  be  asked  to  seek  for 
specimens  in  stable  and  house  cellars. 


66 


NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 


FIG.  22.    EGG  RAFT  LAID  BY  A 
SINGLE  MOSQUITO 


After  the  snow  and  ice  disappear  in  spring,  let  each 
child  keep  careful  watch  for  eggs  and  wrigglers,  in  any 
stagnant  pools,  water  pails,  tubs,  or  barrels  standing 
outdoors  about  his  own  home,  and  note  the  date  and 

bring  in  specimens  in  a  bottle 
filled  with  the  water  in  which 
they  are  found. 

As  soon  as  the  wrigglers 
appear  in  numbers,  arrange 
an  aquarium  with  a  single  little  fish,  preferably  a  native  in 
the  locality,  —  sunfish,  perch,  pickerel,  pout,  bass,  shiner, 
dace,  —  but  a  goldfish  will  do.  You  will  not  have  fed  the 
fish  the  day  before  this  lesson.  Gather  the  class  about 
the  aquarium,  and  as  you  pour  in  a  tumblerful  of  wrigglers 
ask  each  to  count  how  many  the  fish  takes  for  a  meal. 

In  another  aquarium  keep  a  large 
quantity  of  wrigglers.  Have  the  top 
securely  covered  with  gauze,  so  that 
none  may  escape-  into  the  room,  and 
observe  from  time  to  time  to  see  them 
moult  their  skins,  until  a  number  have 
passed  through  the  larval  stages  and 
emerged  as  adult  mosquitoes. 
Then,  at  the  beginning  of  the 
nature-study  lesson,  put  a  few 
drops  of  kerosene  oil  on  the  water 
and  let  the  children  observe  the 
result.  Within  a  few  minutes  all  the  wrigglers  will  have 
been  killed,  and  as  the  mosquitoes  touch  the  oily  surface 
they  sink  down  and  drown.  A  mosquito  can  walk  on 
water,  as  the  children  should  already  have  observed  in 


FIG.  23.     MOSQUITO  PUPA 
(After  Howard) 


INSECTS    OF    THE    HOUSEHOLD  67 

the  aquarium,  but  it  cannot  stand  on  oil.  Since  all  the 
mosquitoes  of  a  neighborhood  must  come  to  the  water  to 
lay  their  eggs,  and  since  all  the  eggs  and  wrigglers  are 
killed,  this  is  one  of  the  easiest  ways  to  rid  the  place  of 
mosquitoes.  It  has  been  tried  on  a  large  scale  and  under 
all  sorts  of  conditions  with  remarkable  success,  so  that 
any  inland  community,  not  surrounded  by  interminable 
marshes  which  cannot  be  drained,  may  easily  rid  itself  of 
the  mosquito  pest.  The  amount  of  oil  required  is  an 
ounce  for  fifteen  square  feet  of  water  surface,  and  it  will 
not  require  renewing  for  from  one  to  two  months,  unless 
washed  off  by  heavy  rains.  As  soon  as  live  wrigglers  can 
be  found,  the  oil  should  be  applied  again. 

The  children  have  now  learned  two  ways  of  exterminat- 
ing mosquitoes.  Discuss  and  compare  them,  drawing  out 
what  the  class  thinks  is  the  easiest,  cheapest,  and  most 
effective  method.  Bring  out  the  fact  that  one  is  man's, 
the  other  is  nature's,  method. 

As  the  hunt  for  .mosquitoes  and  wrigglers  progresses 
in  the  spring,  have  each  child  make  a  map  of  some  part 
of  the  district,  preferably  his  own  lot,  block,  or  farm, 
marking  plainly  all  the  pools  and  streams  in  which  mos- 
quitoes are  and  are  not  found.  Have  the  children  then 
go  over  the  ground  very  carefully  again,  to  see  if  they 
can  discover  why  mosquitoes  are  abundant  in  some  places 
and  not  in  others  ;  they  may  take  their  maps  with  them 
and  do  this  on  an  excursion.  Do  the  fishes  make  the 
difference?  Do  frog  arid  toad  tadpoles1  keep  the  water 

1  The  writer  has  seen  toad  tadpoles  eat  mosquito  larvae  in  an  aquarium 
and  has  observed  that  in  two  water-lily  tubs  standing  side  by  side  the  one 
without  tadpoles  swarmed  with  wrigglers,  while  the  one  stocked  with  tad- 
poles contained  none  or  very  few. 


68  NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 

clear  of  wrigglers  ?  Can  they  discover  anything  else  that 
eats  mosquito  wrigglers  in  the  water  ? 

Step  by  step,  as  a  point  is  learned,  encourage  each 
child  to  make  what  practical  applications  he  can.  If  this 
has  been  done,  the  children  will  have  collected  minnows 
from  ponds  and  streams  where  they  are  abundant  in  order 
to  stock  such  pools  as  are  suitable  but  do  not  contain 
fish.  Mud  puddles  and  all  pools  too  filthy  or  temporary 
for  fish  to  live  in  should  be  drained,  and  where  this  is  not 
immediately  possible,  they  may  be 
covered  with  kerosene  at  the  rate 
of  an  ounce  to  fifteen  square  feet 
of  surface. 

Mosquitoes    and    Malaria.  —  Annoy- 
ance  and    suffering    caused    by 
mosquitoes   should  be  sufficient  to 
supply  motives  for  this  work.     Still 
another  series  of  lessons  for  pupils 
of  sufficient  advancement  will  serve 
FIG.  24.   EGGS  OF  MALARIAL  to  increase  interest  in  the  subject, 
MOSQUITO  especially  in  districts  afflicted  with 

As  they  appaar  resting  natu- 
rally on  the  surface  of  the     malaria. 

water.    (Enlarged.    After        Begin  by  asking  the  pupils  how 
many    have   had    malaria   within    a 

year.  How  did  they  enjoy  it  ?  Next  they  may  be  asked 
to  tell  how  many  cases  they  have  known  in  the  neighbor- 
hood. Let  them  describe  how  the  different  cases  are 
distributed  with  reference  to  swamps  and  stagnant  water. 
It  might  be  well  to  ask  them  to  tell  how  they  suppose 
people  get  malaria  and  leave  them  to  think  over  this 
question  until  the  next  lesson. 


INSECTS    OF    THE    HOUSEHOLD 


69 


At  the  beginning  of  the  lesson  restate  the  question  and 
allow  only  a  few  minutes  for  them  to  advance  their  own 
theories.  Follow  up  the  answers  that  take  the  right  direc- 
tion and  see  if  the  cases  of  malaria  cannot  be  accounted 
for  readily  by 
means  of  trans- 
mission of  the  dis- 
ease by  mosquito 
bites.  Then  read 


the  following: 


FIG.  25  a.     HALF-GROWN  LARVA  OF  ANOPHELES 

In  feeding  position,  just  beneath  surface  film. 
(Enlarged.     After  Howard) 


"  The  latest  an- 
nounced results  of 
the  most  advanced  investigators 
seem  to  show  that  mosquitoes 
form  the  principal  if  not  the  sole 
means  of  transmission  of  malaria, 
and  workers  in  all  parts  of  the 
world,  including  many  parts  of 
the  United  States,  are  investigat- 
ing the  subject,  more  especially 
in  relation  to  local  conditions." 
Circular  No.  40,  Second  Series, 
United  States  Department  of 
Agriculture,  Division  of  Ento- 
mology, entitled  "  How  to  distin- 
guish the  Different  Mosquitoes 

of  North  America."     [It  is  now  held  that  yellow  fever  is  also  trans- 
mitted by  mosquitoes.] 

The  children  will  see  that  they  are  doing  something 
worth  while  and  of  present  interest.  It  now  becomes 
necessary  to  distinguish  among  the  different  species  of 
mosquitoes  the  ones  that  carry  malaria.  These  have  all 
been  found  to  belong  to  the  genus  Anopheles.  The 


TIG.  25  b. 


HALF-GROWN  LARVA  OF 

CULEX 


In  breathing  position.     (Enlarged. 
After  Howard) 


70  NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 

distinguishing  characteristic  of  the  genus  is  that  the  palpi 
are  at  least  almost  as  long  as  the  proboscis  in  both  sexes. 
An  easier  way  to  distinguish  Anopheles  from  all  other 
mosquitoes  is  from  the  position  of  the  wrigglers  in  the 
water  and  of  the  adults  when  resting  on  a  surface  (Fig.  3 
of  above  Circular  and  others  in  Bulletin  No.  25). 

If  Anopheles  is  found  and  malaria  abounds  in  the 
district,  the  investigation  of  the  class  should  be  carefully 
prepared  for  publication  in  the  local  papers  and  every  effort 


FIG.  26.     RESTING  POSITIONS  OF  ANOPHELES  (AT  LEFT)  AND  CULKX 

(AT  RIGHT) 
a,  antennae ;  /,  proboscis ;  /,  palpi.     (Enlarged.     After  Howard) 

be  made  to  effect  complete  extermination  of  the  pests. 
Even  if  this  be  impossible,  if  the  study  succeed  in  influ- 
encing the  children  against  wantonly  exterminating  the 
fishes  and  frogs  and  newts  of  our  surface  waters,  it  will 
not  have  been  in  vain. 

Throughout  these  lessons  special  attention  should  also 
be  directed  toward  observing  and  studying  the  enemies  of 
mosquitoes  in  the  air.  Young  toads  and  tree  frogs  may 
be  experimented  with  to  see  how  many  they  will  eat  at  a 
meal.  Swallows  are  known  to  destroy  enormous  numbers, 


INSECTS    OF    THE    HOUSEHOLD 


and  nothing  is  more  fascinating  than  to  watch  the  dragon 
flies,  appropriately  called  "  mosquito  hawks,"  catching 
mosquitoes  on  the  wingTJ 

We  shall  not  be  able  to  devote  so  much  time  to  many 
other  insects,  equally  important,  but  this  study  of  the 
mosquito  should  be  used  as  the  type,  showing  the  point  of 
view  and  the  methods  to  be  employed  with  other  species. 

Clothes  Moths.  -£  Comstock  calls  them  "  the  dread  of  every 
housekeeper."  A  coat  is  no  better  than  its  smallest  hole. 
Since  earliest  historic  times 
these  little  insects  have 
been  the  devourers  of 
man's  woolens  and  furs, 
and  they  are  still  as  active 
as  ever.  No  estimate  can 
be  made  of  the  amount  of 
trouble,  annoyance,  work, 
and  damage  they  cause 
year  by  year.  It  must  go 
a  long  way  into  the  millions  in  spite  of  the  best  efforts 
of  careful  housekeepers.  How  many  intelligent  house- 
keepers know  the  life  story  of  this  troublesome  insect  ? 
How  much  easier  might  it  make  the  battle  if  they  did  ! 

Lessons  may  begin  by  asking  the  children  to  collect 
statistics  of  amount  of  damage  caused  by  clothes  moths 
in  their  own  homes  during  the  previous  year.  Include 
with  the  actual  loss,  if  any,  the  value  of  time,  labor,  and 
materials  used  in  prevention.  There  are  sixteen  million 
homes  in  this  country  and,  if  desirable,  simple  calcula- 
tion will  yield  an  interesting  estimate  of  the  tax  that  one 
small  family  of  insects  imposes  and  collects  each  year. 


FIG.  27.     COMMON  CLOTHES  MOTH 

a,  adult ;  fr,  larva ;  c,  larva  in  case. 

(Enlarged.     After  Riley) 


NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 


Next  let  the  members  of  the  class  provide  themselves 
with  wide-mouthed  bottles  and  hunt  over  every  closet, 
attic  or  storeroom,  stable,  poultry  house,  or  woodshed 
where  scraps  of  hair,  feathers,  fur,  or  woolen  cloth  may  have 
gathered.  Let  them  collect  all  the  specimens  both  of  larvae 
and  moths  they  can  find  and  bring  them  to  class  in  their 
bottles.  The  lesson  may  then  be  devoted  to  distribution 

of  clothes  moths  about  the  home. 
Put  a  scrap  of  black  woolen  cloth 
in  each  of  the  bottles  containing 
moths,  cover  the  tops  securely 
with  fine  cotton  gauze,  and  ask 
the  children  to  study  their  speci- 
mens to  see  if  they  are  all  alike. 
There  are  three  clothes  moths, 
distinguished  as  follows  : 

Tinea  pellionella,    common 


SOUTHERN  CLOTHES 

MOTH 

Moth,    larva,  cocoon,  and   empty 
pupa  skin.     (Enlarged. 
Riley) 


After 


clothes  moth,  brown,  with  a  few 
dark  spots  on  fore  wings  ;  larva  constructs  a  case  to  live  in. 

Tineola  biselliella,  southern  clothes  moth,  pale  straw 
color  without  spots;  larva  spins  silken  webs,  eats  hair, 
feathers,  furs,  museum  specimens,  and  cobwebs. 

Trichophaga  tapetzella,  tapestry  moth,  basal  half  of  fore 
wings  black,  the  rest  white;  larva  constructs  burrows  or 
galleries  in  which  it  spins  a  silken  lining.  It  generally 
feeds  on  coarser  fabrics,  tapestries,  carpets,  skins,  felt, 
carriage  upholsteries,  etc. 

Continue  study  of  specimens  ;  examine  black  cloths  with 
the  aid  of  a  hand  lens  for  eggs,  tiny  white  specks  scarcely 
visible  to  the  naked  eye ;  select  as  many  different  stages 
as  possible  and  mount  them  permanently,  as  described  in 


INSECTS    OF    THE    HOUSEHOLD  73 

Chapter  IV ;  make  drawings  and  group  language  lessons 
for  the  time  being  about  the  life  story  and  work  of  the 
clothes  moths. 

The  construction  of  its  case  is  an  interesting  process 
with  the  common  clothes  moth.  It  is  made  very  small  at 
first  to  fit  the  tiny  larva.  As  it  becomes  too  short  for  its 
growing  occupant,  new  material  is  added  at  both  ends, 
and  when  it  gets  too  tight  the  larva  slits  it  down  the  side, 
first  at  one  end  and  then  at  the  other,  and  inserts  trian- 
gular gores.  If,  after  they  have  begun  to  grow,  the  black 
cloth  is  removed  and  a  piece  of  red 
woolen,  or  any  other  color,  sub- 
stituted, then  later  some  white, 
and  so  on,  a  coat  of  many  colors 
will  result  which  will  show  how 
each  addition  has  been  made.  The  FIG.  29.  TAPESTRY  MOTH 

moth  has  but  a  single  brood  in  the     Adult  moth.     (Enlarged.     After 

northern  United  States,  the  adult 

moths  appearing  and  laying  their  eggs  from  June  to  August, 
so  that  this  latter  experiment  must  be  chiefly  vacation 
work  for  the  pupils;  but  it  will  take  only  a  few  moments' 
attention  from  time  to  time,  and  the  specimens  may  be 
preserved  and  brought  in  at  the  opening  of  school  in 
the  fall.  The  pupa  is  formed  within  the  case,  and  the 
pupal  stage  lasts  ordinarily  three  weeks,  'the  moth  eats 
nothing,  its  mouth  parts  being  rudimentary,  and  causes  no 
damage,  except  as  it  lays  its  eggs  upon  exposed  materials 
that  may  furnish  food  for  its  destructive  larvae. 

The  final  lesson  should  be  focused  upon  developing 
clear  ideas  about  methods  of  dealing  with  clothes  moths. 
Draw  out  and  arrange  in  an  orderly  fashion,  so  far  as 


74  NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 

possible,  every  method  the  children  can  think  out  for  them- 
selves and  all  they  may  have  learned  from  their  homes. 
The  first  and  most  effective  of  these  will  be  scrupulous 
care  against  allowing  to  be  neglected  anywhere  about 
the  premises  any  .materials  that  may  furnish  food  for  the 
larvae.  Second,  all  woolens  and  furs  must  be  packed 
away  so  that  moths  cannot  lay  their  eggs  on  them,  and 
it  should  be  remembered  that  they  may  lay  their  eggs 
about  cracks  in  trunks  or  chests  and  that  the  larvae 
may  find  their  way  in  when  they  are  almost  too  small  to 
be  seen.  We  can  prevent  this  by  tying  the  materials  in 
tight  cotton-cloth  bags  or  by  packing  them  away  in  paste- 
board boxes  with  a  strip  of  paper  pasted  over  the  crack 
around  the  cover.  If  there  have  been  any  moths  about, 
there  is  danger  that  eggs  may  have  been  lodged  about 
the  garments,  which  airing  and  brushing  may  not  have 
removed.  To  insure  against  possible  damage  from  this 
source  we  may  pack  the  garments  in  a  very  tight  box, 
wash  boiler,  or  trunk,  placing  on  top  a  saucer  containing 
from  a  tablespoonful  to  half  a  teacup  (according  to  size 
of  receptacle)  of  carbon  bisulphide.  Close  quickly  and 
as  tightly  as  possible  and  leave  closed  for  a  day.  This 
should  be  done  by  daylight  and  out  of  doors.  The  fumes 
of  the  carbon  bisulphide  are  heavy  and  will  have  descended 
and  penetrated  through  every  stitch,  seam,  and  pore,  kill- 
ing eggs  and  larvae  in  all  stages.  The  garments  may  then 
be  aired  and  packed  away. 

Great  care  should  be  taken  not  to  breathe  any  of  the 
carbon  bisulphide,  for  it  is  poisonous  ;  hence  if  kept  about 
the  house  or  premises  at  all,  it  must  be  in  securely  stop- 
pered cans  or  bottles.  No  flame  or  fire  should  be  allowed 


INSECTS    OF    THE    HOUSEHOLD  75 

anywhere  near  carbon  bisulphide,  because  it  is  volatile  and 
its  fumes  are  highly  inflammable  and  explosive. 

In  leaving  the  subject,  as  with  all  similar  topics,  make 
perfectly  clear  its  social  and  ethical  bearings.  In  the 
preliminary  search  for  specimens  the  children  will  doubt- 
less have  discovered  that  some  cast-off  garment,  piece 
of  carpet,  fragment  of  horse  blanket,  or  other  rubbish 
in  some  corner  of  attic  or  outhouse  is  breeding  moths 
enough  to  supply  the  neighborhood.  It  is  quite  as  impor- 
tant that  boys  should  undertake  this  study  as  girls, 
because  often  most  of  the  moth  supply  is  bred  in  stables 
and  outhouses.  Is  it  right  that  some  one  should  be  igno- 
rant and  careless  and  thereby  cause  his  neighbors  labor, 
annoyance,  and  loss  ? 

[The  Carpet  Beetle,  or  Buffalo  Moth,  AntJirenus  scrophularice.— 
Since  its  food  is  similar,  this  insect  may  be  hunted  for  at 
the  same  time  with  the  clothes  moths  and  should  be  treated 
in  somewhat  the  same  way.  It  was  imported  into  Boston 
and  New  York  from  Europe  about  1874,  and  it  is  inter- 
esting, as  showing  how  fast  such  pests  may  travel,  to 
note  that  it  has  become  a  household  pest  throughout  all 
the  New  England  states,  New  York,  Pennsylvania,  Ohio, 
Indiana,  Michigan,  Illinois,  Iowa,  and  Kansas.  It  is  not 
commonly  known  as  a  carpet  pest  in  Europe,  because 
tacked-down  carpets  are  little  used. 

The  larvae,  which,  as  in  the  case  of  the  clothes  moths, 
do  all  the  damage,  are  lively  little  fellows,  about  a  quarter 
of  an  inch  in  length,  bristling  all  over  with  stiff  brown 
hairs.  They  frequent  cracks  in  the  floor  about  borders 
and  unused  portions  of  rooms  and,  feeding  from  below, 
cut  long  slits  in  the  carpets.  Besides  poking  them  out 


76  NATURE    STUDY   AND    LIFE 

of  cracks  a  good  way  to  trap  them  is  to  spread  woolen 
cloths  on  closet  floors,  taking  them  up  daily  and  shaking 
them  over  papers.  The  larvae,  if  kept  in  bottles  and  fed 
on  woolen  cloth,  may  be  observed  to  change  into  pupae 
within  their  last  larval  skins.  The  pupa  case  finally  is 
split  open  on  the  back,  and  a  little  black  beetle  emerges. 
It  is  about  one-seventh  of  an  inch  in  length  and  is  cov- 
ered with  black,  white,  and  brick-red  scales,  giving  it  a 
mottled  appearance.  An  amusing  thing  about  the  larvae 
is  that,  if  kept  in  a  dry  place  without  any  food,  they  will 


a,  larva,  dorsal  view  ;  l>,  pupa  within  larval  skin  ;  c,  pupa,  ventral  view;  d,  adult. 
(All  enlarged.     After  Riley) 


live  -for  an  almost  indefinite  time,  feeding  on  their  cast- 
off  skins,  i.e.,  when  one  gets  hungry  he  sheds  his  skin 
and  eats  it.  Great  care  should  be  taken  to  teach  the 
distinction  between  carpet  beetles  and  our  little  lady-bird 
beetles.  These  latter  often  come  into  our  houses  to  pass 
the  winter  and  are  killed  by  mistake.  They  are  among 
our  best  insect  friends  and  may  be  worth  a  quarter  apiece 
for  destroying  plant  lice,  as  we  shall  see  when  we  come 
to  study  insects  of  the  garden. 


INSECTS    OF    THE    HOUSEHOLD  77 

The  times  and  seasons  in  the  story  of  the  carpet 
beetle's  life  are  not  definitely  stated  in  the  books,  which 
means  that  there  is  all  the  more  for  pupils  to  find  out. 
There  are  probably  two  broods  a  year.  Adults  of  the 
second  brood  begin  to  emerge  in  the  fall  and  continue 
coming  out  through  the  winter,  so  that  by  spring,  in  an 
infested  house,  the  rooms  will  be  full  of  them.  They  are 
day  fliers,  are  attracted  to  the  light,  and  hence,  on  sunny 
days  in  early  spring,  they  gather  in  numbers  on  the  win- 
dows. They  feed  on  the  pollen  of  flowers  —  especially  of 
the  Scrophulariaceae  (mullein  and  snapdragon)  and  certain 
of  the  Compositae  (milfoil).  They  are  also  fond  of  the  spi- 
raeas, and  may  be  found  on  willow,  currant,  and  cherry  blos- 
soms. It  is  stated  in  the  books  that  "  they  have  probably" 
deposited  their  eggs  about  the  carpets  before  they  seek 
the  flowers  in  the  spring,  but  it  would  be  safe  to  brush 
them  from  the  window  panes  into  a  saucer  of  kerosene 
oil. 

Remedies.  —  From  what  we  have  already  learned  of  their 
life  story,  we  see  that  when  a  house  is  once  infested  it 
is  a  desperate  undertaking  to  get  rid  of  the  pests,  living 
as  they  do  in  all  sorts  of  cracks  and  crevices.  Carpets 
must  be  taken  out  and  thoroughly  sprayed  with  naphtha 
or  benzine,  floors  must  be  scalded,  the  cracks  cleaned  out 
and  kerosene  or  benzine  poured  into  them.  Even  then 
the  best  way  to  deal  with  the  carpet  beetle  is  to  revolu- 
tionize ideas  of  housekeeping  and  substitute  hard-wood  or 
stained  or  painted  floors  with  rugs  for  tacked-down  carpets. 
Further,  since  dust  and  stuffiness  are  the  most  unhealth- 
ful  features  of  American  homes,  this  change  is  likely  to 
prove  highly  conducive  to  health  ;  and  if  the  carpet  beetle 


78  NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 

can  aid  in  bringing  this  about,  it  should  be  looked  upon  as 
a  missionary  rather  than  a  pest,  a  blessing  in  disguise. 

Fleas,  Lice,  Bedbugs.  —  These  insects  subsist  upon  the 
blood  of  man  and  all  kinds  of  animals,  generally  a  dif- 
ferent variety  for  the  different  species  of  animals.  No 
estimate  of  the  time,  labor,  expense,  and  distress  caused 
by  this  class  of  insect  pests  can  be  made.  They  flourish 
in  the  homes  of  the  untidy  and  careless  and  spread  through- 
out the  community  by  means  of  appropriate  channels  of 
intercourse, — public  schools,  churches,  libraries,  public 
conveyances,  and  the  shifting  of  servants. 

A  superhuman  amount   of  tact   and 
good  nature  on  the  part  of  the  teacher 
would  be  needed  to   carry 


FIG.  31.     BLACK  CARPET  BEETLK 
Larva  and  adult.     (All  enlarged.     After  Howard  and  Marlatt) 

on  the  study  of  these  insects  along  the  lines  indicated  for 
mosquitoes  and  the  other  household  pests,  but  it  is  not 
intended  to  attempt  it.  A  quite  distinct  method  of  pro- 
cedure should  be  adopted,  and  this  must  be  varied  accord- 
ing to  all  sorts  of  circumstances.  But  since  the  school  is 
perhaps  the  most  frequent  means  of  their  dissemination, 
it  is  no  more  than  right  that  they  should  form  a  serious 
part  of  the  nature-study  course  whenever  this  becomes 
necessary.  Respectable  people  who  are  made  the  fre- 
quent victims  of  these  mortifying  scourges,  and  especially 
teachers,  should  be  the  first  to  insist  upon  this. 


INSECTS    OF    THE    HOUSEHOLD  79 

It  is  not  proposed  to  import  any  specimens  for  study 
or  even  to  ask  pupils  to  search  their  homes  for  them, 
since  those  who  are  successful  in  their  search  cannot  be 
expected  to  own  up  to  the  fact.  If  sometime  during 
the  year  specimens  cannot  be  found  in  the  school,  the 
study  may  be  confined  to  prepared  specimens  collected 
from  former  years,  by  way  of  prevention,  or  it  may  be 
omitted  altogether. 

Whenever  specimens  are  found,  the  opportunity  should 
be  utilized  to  give  a  series  of  lessons  that  can  never  be 
forgotten.  The  child  upon  whose  person  or  belongings 
any  of  the  above-mentioned  insects,  with  possible  excep- 
tion of  fleas,  are  found  should  be  sent  home  and  not 
allowed  to  return  to  school  until  assurance  is  given  that 
the  pest  has  been  thoroughly  dealt  with.  Due  care  should 
be  exercised,  of  course,  not  to  be  too  severe  in  case  of 
an  accidental  specimen  for  which  neither  the  home  nor 
child  is  responsible.  The  ethical  side  is  very  clear  in  all 
such  cases,  and  it  should  be  made  plain  to  each  child  that 
his  carelessness  may  cause  a  whole  school  and  neighbor- 
hood useless  labor  and  distress. 

For  purposes  of  reference  (and  information  is  needed 
by  a  large  portion  of  the  public)  a  brief  outline  of  the 
life  story  is  added  for  each  species,  together  with  one  or 
two  of  the  most  approved  remedies. 

Fleas.  —  The  most  common  flea  in  this  country  is  the 
dog  and  cat  flea,  Pulex  serraticeps,  which  attacks  man  as 
well  and  often  infests  houses  where  these  pets  are  kept. 
When  numerous  it  may  cause  as  much  annoyance  as 
the  human  flea,  P.  irritans.  In  fact,  the  two  species  are 
so  nearly  alike  both  in  appearance  and  in  life  story  that 


80  NATURE    STUDY   AND    LIFE 

no  attempt  need  be  made  to  distinguish  them.  Rabbits, 
squirrels,  rats  and  mice,  moles,  hens,  and  many  other 
animals  have  each  their  peculiar  flea,  but  for  elementary 
study  they  may  all  be  treated  alike. 

From  a  lady's  dress,  on  which  a  kitten  had  been 
fondled  for  a  short  time,  fully  a  teaspoonful  of  fleas'  eggs 
was  collected.  Few  people  ever  think  of  this  part  of  the 
life  story,  but  here  it  naturally  begins.  The  eggs  are 
white,  oval,  and  may  be  distinguished  readily  from  particles 
of  dust  by  the  unaided  eye  that  knows  them.  They  are  laid 


FIG.  32.     DOG  AND  CAT  FLKA 
Egg,  larva,  and  adult.     (All  enlarged.     After  Howard) 

generally  in  the  hair  of  the  infested  animal,  or  wherever 
else  the  fleas  happen  to  be,  and  are  easily  shaken  off  to 
the  ground  or  floor,  where  the  eggs  hatch  and  the  larvae 
develop.  The  larvae  are  slender,  white,  footless,  active, 
wormlike  little  creatures.  They  feed  upon  the  particles 
of  dust  in  carpets  or  cracks  of  floors  or  out  of  doors 
upon  decaying  vegetation  in  the  soil.  The  pupal  stage  is 
also  passed  in  the  dust,  where  the  larvae  feed.  It  takes 
about  two  weeks  for  the  egg  to  hatch,  about  the  same 
time  for  the  larva  to  complete  its  growth,  and  from  ten  to 
sixteen  days  for  the  pupa  to  develop  and  the  adult  form 


INSECTS    OF    THE    HOUSEHOLD  8l 

~ 

to  emerge.  About  two  weeks  are  required  for  each  of  the 
three  stages,  —  egg,  larva,  and  pupa,  —  and  how  long  the 
adult  lives  or  how  many  eggs  one  may  lay  nobody  knows. 
The  adult  readily  leaps  upon  a  passing  animal,  dog  or  cat, 
and  the  life  circle  is  repeated,  generation  after  generation, 
the  year  round,  in  artificially  heated  houses  or  wherever 
there  is  sufficient  warmth  for  development  to  go  on. 

Remedial  measures  must  depend  somewhat  upon  degree 
of  infestation.  If  a  house  is  badly  infested,  the  thorough 
dusting  of  everything  —  floors,  carpets,  rugs,  sofas,  and 
all  upholstered  furniture  —  with  fresh  pyrethrum  powder, 
left  from  two  days  to  a  week  before  sweeping  up,  may 
afford  relief.  When  this  is  not  effective,  the  pyrethrum 
is  probably  not  fresh,  but  it  is  sometimes  said  to  be  neces- 
sary to  spray  the  furniture  and  carpets  heavily  with  ben- 
zine or  naphtha  and  scrub  and  soak  the  floors  with  hot 
soapsuds. 

By  far  the  easiest  and  best  way  is  prevention,  and  the 
humane  care  of  household  pets  demands  nothing  short  of 
this.  As  previously  stated  for  dogs,  it  is  necessary,  only 
to  keep  a  sharp  lookout,  and  as  soon  as  any  fleas  are 
found  thoroughly  lather  the  animal  before  his  bath.  A 
dog  thus  becomes  the  best  automatic  flea  trap  imaginable. 
Cats  may  be  held  on  a  newspaper  and  pyrethrum  powder 
thoroughly  dusted  into  the  fur.  Rabbits,  white  rats,  and 
squirrels  may  be  treated  similarly.  Nest  boxes,  kennels, 
sleeping  rugs,  and  baskets  should  also  be  thoroughly 
treated  with  pyrethrum  from  time  to  time. 

Lice. — The  head  louse,  Pediculus  capitis,  lives  in  the 
hair  of  the  head.  The  eggs  are  known  as  "nits"  and  are 
securely  glued  to  the  hairs  a  little  distance  from  the  scalp, 


82 


NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 


generally  back  of  the  ears,  They  are  laid  in  great  numbers. 
Remedies  are,  first  of  all,  cleanliness  and  constant  vigilance 
where  infection  is  possible.  One  thorough  application  of 
oil  of  cajeput  to  the  hair  should  prove  fatal  to  both  lice 
and  nits.  Some  care  should  be  used  not  to  flood  the  scalp 
with  the  oil,  as  on  tender  skins  it  causes  slight  inflam- 
mation and  for  delicate 
skinsofyoungchildren 
the  oil,  mixed  with  an  equal 
amount  of  vaseline,  will 
prove  as  effective,  with  less 
danger  of  causing  irritation. 
Larkspur  and  strong  alco- 
hol are  other  remedies. 

The  body  louse,  Pedicu- 
lus  vestimenti,  lives  and 
deposits  its  eggs  in  the 
folds  and  seams  of  human 
clothing.  A  female  may 
lay  as  many  as  2500  eggs  a  month,  and  in  warm  weather 
many  more  than  this,  which  accounts  for  the  sudden- 
ness with  which  an  outbreak  may  appear.  The  remedy  is 
thorough  boiling  of  all  infested  clothing,  preferably  in  salt 
water.  Treatment  with  carbon  bisulphide,  as  described 
for  clothes  moths,  is  also  effective. 

Bedbugs,  Cimex  lectularius. — These  are  insects  the  long 
association  of  which  with  man,  extending  as  far  back  as  his- 
toric records,  has  resulted  in  development  of  a  consider- 
able degree  of  cunning.  They  bite  during  the  sleep  of 
their  victim  and  under  cover  of  darkness,  hiding  during 
daylight  in  cracks  of  old-fashioned  wooden  bedsteads, 


FIG.  33.     CIMEX  LECTULARIUS 

a,  adult  female  gorged  with  blood ;  />,  egg. 

(After  Marlatt) 


INSECTS    OF    THE    HOUSEHOLD  83 

under  loose  places  in  the  wall  paper,  in  crevices  behind 
picture  mouldings,  in  picture  frames,  or  about  door  or 
window  casings  or  mopboards.  They  are  inclined  to  be 
gregarious,  which  aids  in  their  destruction  in  case  their 
hiding  places  can  be  discovered,  and  their  characteristic 
"  spotting  "  is  of  assistance  in  this.  Bedbugs  are  known 
to  migrate  from  one  house  to  another,  especially  when  a 
house  is  vacated,  and  they  can  live  for  a  year  or  more  with- 
out food.  That  they  are  cunning  enough  to  steal  rides 
from  place  to  place  is  indicated  to  some  extent  by  the 
frequency  with  which  they  get  into  trunks  and  satchels  of 
travelers  and  are  found  on  the  clothing  of  school  children 
from  infested  homes  ;  but  this 
may  be  due  to  accident  or  over- 
crowding. 

A  common  remedy  consists  in 

flooding  with    benzine    all   crev-       \Q\  J§  j|  ^ 

ices  that    may  harbor  the   pest. 
Filling  these  cracks   with   pyre-  FlG.  34.    BLOOD-SUCKING  CONE 
thrum  powder  is  not  so  effective  NosE 

as    With    mOSt    Other    insects,    but    «,  adult  bug;  J,  first  pupal  stage. 
.  (All  enlarged  to  same) 

for  immediate  relief  a  thorough 

dusting  of  the  powder  between  the  sheets  will  protect  the 
weary  traveler  from  the  most  voracious  of  the  species, 
and  all  tourists,  especially  in  Europe,  should  include  a 
supply  in  their  kits. 

The  "big  bedbug,"  or  blood-sucking  cone  nose,  Cono- 
rhinus  sanguisuga,  is  distributed  throughout  the  Southern 
States.  During  its  larval  stages  it  probably  subsists 
upon  other  insects,  but  the  adults  are  provided  with  wings 
and  live  on  the  blood  of  mammals.  They  not  infrequently 


84 


NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 


fly  into  houses  and  attack  men.  Their  bite  is  extremely 
painful  and  quite  venomous.  Closely  related  to  these 
is  the  "  kissing  bug,"  Rednvius  personatus.  Its  natural 
food,  so  far  as  known,  is  the  bedbug,  hence  it  is  common 
in  filthy  cities  ;  but  it  sometimes  bites  man  with  somewhat 
serious  results.  In  its  larval  stages  its  body  is  covered 
with  a  sticky  substance.  This  collects  dust  and  lint 

which  effectually  con- 
ceal the  insect  and  give 
it  one  of  its  common 
names,  "the  masked 
bedbug  hunter."  The 
insect  may  not  uncom- 
monly be  found  about 
dusty  corners  of  attics 
or  barn  lofts,  and  the 
adults  are  sometimes 
found  in  beds,  where 
they  are  probably  seek- 
ing their  natural  food. 

Cockroaches.  —  Roaches 
eat  practically  every- 
thing they  can  gain 
access  to,  often  doing 
serious  damage  even  to  book  bindings  in  libraries.  They 
are  nocturnal  and  live  in  damp,  dark  places,  generally 
about  sinks,  water  pipes,  and  set  tubs.  They  have  a 
nauseating  odor  and,  as  they  are  wont  to  congregate 
about  garbage,  the  thought  of  eating  the  food  they  have 
touched  is  intolerable.  They  may  also  be  carriers  of 
disease  germs. 


FIG.  35.     THE  AMERICAN  ROACH 

a,  egg  capsule ;  £,  adult.     (Natural  size.    After 
Marlatt) 


INSECTS    OF    THE    HOUSEHOLD 


There  are  four  kinds  of  roaches  common  in  this  coun- 
try :  the  small  brown  German  roach,  the  Croton  or  water 
bug,  Ectobia  Germanica,  generally  troublesome  about  hotels 
and  dwelling  houses  ;  the  large  black  roach,  Periplaneta 
Americana,  more  common  about  mills,  bakeries,  wharves, 
and  ships ;  the  Australian  roach,  P.  Australasia,  com- 
mon in  Florida  and  the  South  ;  and  the  oriental  roach, 
P.  orientalis,  which 
is  quite  cosmopolitan. 

To  be  rid  of  these 
pests  is  easier  to  talk 
about  than  to  accom- 
plish. Their  long 
association  with  man 
has  made  them  so 
cunning  that  traps 
and  poisons  are  of 
only  partial  and  tem- 
porary avail.  Clean, 
open  plumbing,  with 
no  cracks  for  them  to 
hide  in,  is  the  first  consideration.  If  this  be  impossible, 
scalding  soapsuds  or  benzine  syringed  or  poured  into  their 
hiding  places  will  aid  in  keeping  their  numbers  in  check. 
The  writer  has  discovered  that  bats  are  very  fond  of 
roaches,  and  it  is  said  that  a  common  toad  or  a  tree  frog 
left  in  an  infested  room  will  soon  exterminate  them. 
Experiments,  as  opportunity  may  offer,  with  any  of  these 
natural  methods  may  prove  instructive  and  interesting. 

The  eggs  of   cockroaches  are  inclosed  in  large  bean- 
shaped  packets  within  the  abdomen  of  the  female  and  are 


FIG.  36.     THE  GERMAN  ROACH 
b,  second  stage ;  </,  fourth  stage ;  /,  adult  female 
with  egg  case ;  g,  egg  case.     (Enlarged.      All 
natural  size,  except  g.     After  Riley) 


86  NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 

carried  about  until  the  young  emerge.  They  are  thus 
easy  to  find  and  may  be  hatched  and  the  different  stages 
studied  if  this  seem  desirable.  For  insects  they  are  of 
slow  growth,  requiring  five  or  six  months  (German  roach) 
or  a  year  (American  roach)  to  attain  adult  size. 

Ants.  —  This  is  a  fascinating  group  of  insects  to  study. 
Their  social  life  and  work,  care  of  queens,  eggs  and  young, 


FIG.  37.     THE  LITTLE  BLACK  ANT 

a,  female ;  l>,  male ;  c,  worker :  egg,  larva,  and  pupa. 

(All  enlarged.     After  Marlatt) 

their  soldiers,  their  armies  and  battles,  their  cows,  the 
plant  lice,  and  the  slaves  that  some  species  capture  and 
bring  home  to  do  the  menial  work  of  their  nests  place 
them  above  all  other  insects.  We  shall  study  some  of 
these  in  the  proper  place,  but  among  household  insects 
we  must  consider  those  kinds  that  are  often  troublesome 
about  our  homes. 

,Jhe  little  red  ant,  Monomorium  pharaonis,  is  one  of  the 
smallest  and  often  most  annoying  of  household  pests. 
It  lives  upon  all  sorts  of  human  provisions,  especially 
sweets  and  fatty  foods,  and  seldom  is  a  cover  tight  enough 
to  exclude  its  seemingly  innumerable  hordes.  A  small 
black  ant,  M.  mimitum,  and  a  somewhat  larger  species, 
Tetramorium  coespitum,  are  troublesome  much  in  the  same 


INSECTS    OF    THE    HOUSEHOLD 


way,  but  their  nests  being  in  the  ground  outside  the  house 
they  are  generally  easier  to  find  and  destroy. 

In  order  to  deal  successfully  with  ants  we  must  know 
that  their  communities  consist  of  :  (i)  workers,  or  neuters, 
which  are  wingless  and  very  numerous,  so  that  these  are 
the  ones  we  commonly  see  about ;  these  are  females  not 
fully  developed  ;  (2)  queens,  or  females,  which  are  single 
or  but  few  in  a  nest  and  which  we  never  see  outside  the 
nest,  except  in  mating  time.  The  queen  is  much  larger 
than  the  workers,  her  abdomen  especially  being  much 
distended  with  eggs,  of  which  she  may  lay  thousands  a 
day.  The  queens  have  wings  at  first,  but  after  they  have 
flown  out  and  been  fertilized,  they  either  tear  their  own 
wings  off  or  the  workers  do  this  for  them,  and  they  settle 
down  in  the  nest  to  lay  eggs  for  the  rest  of  their  lives. 
Males,  generally 
much  smaller  than  the 
queens,  have  wings 
but  are  short-lived 
and  are  not  com- 
monly seen  about  the 
nest,  except  in  mating 
time.  This  occurs  for 
most  of  our  species 
in  the  late  summer 
or  early  fall,  when, 
for  a  few  sunny  days,  the  air  may  be  swarming  with 
flying  ants.  These  are  the  males  and  queens  on  their 
wedding  journeys.  A  number  of  species  have  in  addition 
to  these  three  kinds  "  soldiers,"  which  may  be  recognized 
by  their  large  size  and  huge  jaws. 


FIG.  38.     THE  RED  ANT 
a,  female  ;  b,  worker.     (Enlarged.     After  Riley) 


88  NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 

To  rid  a-house  of  ants  effectually  it  is  only  necessary  to 
find  the  nest — often  easier  said  than  done — and  treat  it 
with  boiling  soapsuds,  kerosene  or  benzine,  carbon  bisul- 
phide or  gunpowder,  according  to  individual  preference 
and  the  location  of  the  nest. 

It  is  a  fine  piece  of  investigation  to  set  a  boy  at,  this 
finding  of  a  troublesome  ants'  nest.  It  can  always  be 
done,  with  sufficient  patience  and  persistence,  by  follow- 
ing the  streams  of  workers  going  to  and  from  it.  The 
little  red  ant  generally  nests  in  crevices  about  the  sills  or 
timbers,  sometimes  between  the  flooring,  and  often  holes 
will  have  to  be  bored  or  baseboards  or  portions  of  the 
floors  be  torn  up  to  get  at  them.  Naturally  in  such  places 
scalding  suds  or  benzine  will  be  used  to  deluge  the  nest. 
The  other  two  species  commonly  nest  outside,  in  the 
ground  under  stones  or  pavements,  and  may  be  thoroughly 
dealt  with  by  running  a  stick  or  crowbar  into  the  nest  and 
pouring  down  any  of  the  liquids  mentioned.  An  interesting 
way,  which  will  appeal  to  boys,  is  to  load  the  hole  with  about 
an  ounce  of  gunpowder,  connect  with  a  fuse,  close  well  with 
earth,  and  touch  it  off,  and  ants  will  disappear  as  by  magic. 
A  pack  of  firecrackers  may  be  used  for  the  purpose. 

Among  the  many  insects  that  invade  the  house  the 
above  have  been  chosen  as  typical  of  different  modes  of 
life  and  as  most  important.  Any  others  may  be  studied  in 
similar  ways,  and  they  may  also  be  dealt  with  by  methods 
like  those  above  described.  On  any  topic  relating  to 
insects  the  most  reliable  information  may  now  be  obtained 
from  either  the  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture 
or  the  Experiment  Stations  of  the  different  states.  To 
obtain  the  bulletins  issued  in  Washington  apply  for  the 


INSECTS    OF    THE    HOUSEHOLD 


89 


monthly  list  of  publications,  the  facsimile  heading  of  which 
is  as  follows  : 

This  circular  will  be  sent  regularly  to  all  who  apply  for  it 

UNITED    STATES    DEPARTMENT    OF   AGRICULTURE 

Division  of  Publications 

WASHINGTON,  D.C.,  Nov.  30,  1901 

MONTHLY   LIST   OF   PUBLICATIONS 

[November,  fqof.] 

NOTE.  —  To  obtain  those  publications  to  which  a  Price  is  affixed,  application  must  be 
made  to  the  Superintendent  of  Documents,  Union  Building,  Washington,  D.C.,  to  whom 
all  remittances  must  be  directed. 

The  Department  of  Agriculture  does  not  distribute  or  control  the  distribution  of  publica- 
tions of  the  State  Agricultural  Experiment  Stations.  Application  for  them  should  be  made 
to  the  several  stations  in  the  different  States. 


These  monthly  lists  will  serve  to  keep  us  posted  on  what 
is  being  done  and  open  the  way  to  securing  the  latest  and 
most  reliable  information  about  domestic  animals,  birds,  trees, 
insects,  fungi,  and  many  other  nature  subjects.  The  following 
may  be  referred  to  in  connection  with  this  chapter. 

L.  O.  HOWARD  and  C.  L.  MARLATT.  "The  Principal  Household 
Insects  of  the  United  States,"  Bulletin  ATo.  4,  Division  of  Entomology, 
Washington,  1896,  130  pp. ;  64  illustrations.  Price,  ten  cents. 

HERBERT  OSBORN.  "  Insects  affecting  Domestic  Animals,"  Bulletin 
No.  5,  Division  of  Entomology,  Washington,  1896,  302  pp.;  170  illustra- 
tions. Price,  twenty  cents. 


-g 


CHAPTER    VI 

LESSONS    WITH   PLANTS 

Consider  the  lilies  of  the  field,  how  they  grow ;  they  toil  not,  neither 
do  they  spin  :  and  yet  I  say  unto  you  that  even  Solomon  in  all  his  glory 
was  not  arrayed  like  one  of  these. 

No  blooming  of  roses  endureth  forever, 
The  glories  of  sunset  not  alway  remain ; 
Yet  liveth  their  grace  in  the  spirit,  tho'  never, 
The  senses  perceive  the  same  beauty  again. 

S.  M.  NEWMAN. 

(  THE  love  of  a  flower  in  the  heart  of  a  child  is  the  high- 
est thing  that  nature  study  can  hope  to  develop.  /  No 
amount  of  knowledge  about  flowers  can  take  its  place  nor 
compare  with  it  in  life  value.  This,  with  some  knowledge 
of  horticulture,  acquaintance  with  poisonous  plants,  wild 
flowers,  trees,  and  some  of  the  lower  forms,  is  the  botany 
that  should  be  required  below  the  high  school. 

Too  often,  especially  in  our  efforts  at  education,  when 
we  strive  hardest  to  develop  love  of  a  subject  we  succeed 
in  awakening  quite  the  reverse  emotion.  This  is  a  deli- 
cate matter,  and  it  must  be  no  half-hearted  love  that 
attempts  to  teach.1  Books  on  psychology  and  child  study 

1  Since  we  love,  what  need  to  think  ? 
Happiness  stands  on  a  brink 
Whence  too  easy  't  is  to  fall 
Whither 's  no  return  at  all ; 
Have  a  care,  half  hearted  lover, 
Thought  would  only  push  her  over ! 

LOWELL,  Love  and  Thought. 
91 


NATURE    STUDY   AND    LIFE 


help  us  all  too  little  in  these  fundamental  matters.  The 
best  we  can  do  is  each  to  ask  himself  :  What  flowers  do 
I  like  best  ?  How  did  I  come  to  like  them?  How  old  was 

I  when  the  feeling  began, 
and  what  associations  have 
I  formed  with  them  ?  How 
and  when  were  these 
formed  ? 

When  we  analyze  these 
emotions  in  ourselves  and 
observe  their  expressions  in 
others,  we  find  different 
kinds  of  love  :  the  love  of 
the  fresh-cut  flowers  of  the 
shop  windows,  a  commercial 
affaire  de  ccenr,  as  fleeting, 
superficial,  and  rootless  as 
they  ;  the  botanist's  passion 
to  analyze  and  know  the 
names  of  more  flowers  than 
any  one  else,  a  refined  love 
of  himself  ;  the  so-called 
love  of  the  rare,  the  new, 
the  strange,  and  curious; 
and  finally,  the  love  of  the 
gardener  for  the  flowers  he 
has  planted  and  reared,  like 
the  love  of  parent  for  child. 
Through  all  these  different  kinds  we  note  that  the  par- 
ticular  feeling  is  mainly  a  matter  of  association.  If  flowers 
are  good  only  to  enhance  the  pleasure  of  a  ball,  when  the 


FIG.  40 


LESSONS    WITH    PLANTS  93 

party  is  over  they  are  valueless.  Flowers  greet  us  with  a 
burst  of  color  and  fragrance  on  a  perfect  morning  in  June, 
awakening  feelings  of  delight,  and  we  associate  the  pleas- 
ing emotions  with  them.  On  the  other  hand,  the  same 
flowers,  sensed  in  some  striking  way  at  a  funeral,  become 
unendurable  because  of  the  associations  they  arouse. 

When  Queen  Louise  was  fleeing  from  Napoleon  with 
her  family,  the  carriage  broke  down ;  and  while  they 
were  waiting,  to  soothe  little  William's  crying,  the  queen 
made  him  a  crown  of  the  blue  corn  flowers  by  the  road- 
side. Ever  afterward  they  reminded  him  of  his  mother's 
eyes  and  became  his  best-loved  flower,  Centaurea  Emperor 
William. 

The  problem  of  developing  love  of  flowers  thus  becomes 
one  of  forming  pleasing  associations  with  them,  and  it 
should  be  remembered  that  the  strongest  and  most  per- 
sistent association  is  that  related  to  the  ivill  of  the  indi- 
vidual. Under  normal  condition/ a  person  will  love  those 
things  about  which  his  work  centers,  to  which  the  effort 
and  energy  of  his  life  is  devoted.  This  is  the  only  real 
"treasure"  of  life,  and  "where  your  treasure  is,  there 
will  your  heart  be  also."  Parents,  even,  do  not  love  their  ^ 
children,  nor  children  their  parents,  unless  they  work  and 
sacrifice  themselves  in  each  other's  behalf.  In  fact,  love 
is  often  defined  as  the  desire  to  do  good  to  the  object 
loved,  so  fundamental  is  this  aspect  of  its  development. 
In  a  word,  we  may  say  that  the  affections  form  and  grow 
about  our  habitual  doing,  if  this  be  pleasurable. 

With  these  preliminaries  clear,  we  may  begin  by  asking 
the  children  :  What  flowers  do  you  like  best  ?  Why  do 
you  like  these  better  than  any  others  ? 


94  NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 

Let  this  be  a  writing  lesson,  giving  it  to  the  class  with- 
out  warning  and  encouraging  each  one  to  write  honestly 
just  as  he  may  feel.  If  any  do  not  like  flowers,  encourage 
them  to  state  the  fact  and  give  the  reasons,  as  far  as  they 
can,  for  their  feelings. 

Next  make  a  composition  lesson  on  what  the  children 
know  about  cultivating  flowers.  Ask  them  to  write  about 
their  own  doings  in  this  line.  What  flowers  have  they 
raised  ?  How  did  they  succeed  ?  Let  them  describe  the 
seeds,  and  tell  how  they  planted  and  cared  for  them. 
Those  who  have  done  nothing  of  the  kind  may  have  to 
be  provided  with  a  routine  writing  lesson  for  this  period. 
But  from  these  lessons  you  may  gather  the  lines  of  interest 
that  the  children  have  already  begun  to  develop. 

Have  a  package  of  seeds,  if  possible  of  the  flower  that 
most  of  the  children  like  best,  and  ask  how  many  would 
like  to  take  some  seeds  and  see  who  can  raise  the  best 
plant.  Distribute  an  equal  number  of  seeds  to  as  many 
as  wish  to  undertake  the  work,  and  give  a  simple  lesson 
and  demonstration  on  the  preparation  of  soil  and  best  way 
to  plant.  This  should  be  done  some  time  in  March,  so 
that  the  plants  may  be  well  grown  and  in  fine  bloom  for 
the  flower  show  at  the  end  of  the  spring  term.  The  seeds 
should  be  planted  and  reared  at  home,  each  child  promis- 
ing to  do  all  the  work  himself,  to  take  the  sole  care  of 
his  plant,  and  to  bring  in  his  result,  whatever  that  may  be, 
at  the  end  of  the  term. 

It  will  be  better  for  many  reasons,  for  the  independence 
and  ingenuity  of  the  children  and  to  preserve  the  impar- 
tiality of  the  teacher,  if  the  children  be  given  to  under- 
stand that  each  must  find  out  for  himself,  from  books  or 


LESSONS    WITH    PLANTS  95 

parents  or  anybody  who  knows,  the  best  way  to  rear  his 
plant.     A  number  of  seeds,  five  to  a  hundred,  according  to 
the  variety,  must  of  course  be  given  to  each,  and  it  may 
be  clearly  pointed  out  that,  if  a  child  be  careful,  he  may 
have  a  number  of  plants.     The  question  being,  Who  can 
raise   the  best    single   plant  ?    a  child  may  try  different  1 
methods  with   different  plants,  and  so  learn  for  himself  ' 
which   way   is   best.     Thus   we  cultivate  thoughtfulness/ 
and  power  to  reason,  and  initiate  unconsciously  into  scien-/ 
tific  experiment,  directed  toward  tangible  and   practical) 
ends.     . 

We  may  begin  in  the  first  grade  with  some  plant  of  easy 
culture  and  continue  with  more  difficult  plants,  making 
this  a  regular  feature  of  the  spring  botany  work  through- 
out the  grammar  grades.  In  neighborhoods  where  none 
of  the  children  have  ever  planted  a  seed  or  tried  to  rear  a 
plant  of  any  sort,  it  may  be  necessary  to  begin  with  easy 
plants  for  all  grades. 

For  the  best  success  of  these  lessons  we  need  to  select 
plants  as  beautiful,  attractive,  and  interesting  as  possible, 
that  will  bloom  well  between  time  of  planting  and  end  of 
spring  term.  They  should  also  be  adapted  to  pot  culture. 
The  table  on  the  following  page  may  be  suggestive  as  to 
varieties  best  adapted  on  account  of  short  period  between 
planting  and  bloom. 

This  work  has  been  tried  as  an  experiment  for  the  past 

four  years  with  increasing  evidence  of  its  value.1     The 

% 

1  The  first  year  the  children  were  purposely  not  told  what  seeds  they 
were  given,  and  in  consequence  they  had  little  else  but  beautifully  grown 
weeds  to  show  at  the  end  of  the  term.  Petunias  were  planted  sometimes 
turee  inches  deep. 


96 


NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFK 


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Clarkia  elegans  rosea  .  . 

Collinsia  bicolor  .... 
Convolvulus  minor,  blue 

Dianthus  Chinensis,  double 

Eschscholtzia  Californica,  ro 

Gaillardia  Lorenziana  .  . 
Iberis,  sweet  scented,  Candy 

Impatiens,  double,  Balsam 
Matthiola,  dwarf  Snowflake, 

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LESSONS    WITH    PLANTS 


97 


Grade  II 
Grade  III 


distribution  of  plants  to  the  different  grades  last  year  was 
as  follows  : 

Grades  I  and  II.  Dwarf  nasturtium,  Tom  Thumb,  Tropceo- 
lum  minor.  This  has  never  fai^d  to 
bloom  profusely  and  greatly  delight  the 
children. 

Calliopsis  coronata,  very  successful. 

Sensitive  plant,  Mimosa  pudica.  The 
best  plant  to  teach  that  plants  are  alive. 
Grade  IV.  Bachelor's  button,  Centaurea.  Always 
succeeds  and  is  a  great  favorite  in  the 
school. 

Balsam,  Impatiens.  This  has  done  only 
fairly  well,  and  the  number  of  failures 
indicate  that  it  needs  good  care. 

Petunia.1  Interesting  on  account  of  dust- 
like  seeds. 

Ten-weeks  stock.      Has  done  fairly  well. 


Grade  V. 


Grade  VI, 


Grades  VII  and  VIII. 


To  rear  a  plant  best  is  the  lesson./  A  man  is  a  whole 
man  only  when  he  plays.  This  competitive  element  thus 
enlists  the  whole  child,  brings  into  action  every  scrap  of 
power  to  think,  reason,  investigate,  experiment,  to  will 
and  to  do,  of  which  a  child  is  capable.  And  do  we  think 
how  large  a  lesson  we  have  given  ?  No  man  yet  knows 
how  to  rear  any  single  plant  best  or  has  ever  been  able 
to  do  it.  It  is  the  lesson,  in  epitome,  of  the  human 
race  in  learning  the  best  cultural  conditions  for  different 

1  Petunias  had  been  tried  by  grades  VII  and  VIII  and  failed  two  years 
in  succession.  They  were  accordingly  given  up  for  a  year.  The  next  year 
grade  VI  begged  to  be  allowed  to  try  petunias,  just  because  the  others  had 
failed,  and  scored  a  brilliant  success.  This  was  due  to  simple  instruction 
upon  preparation  of  soil  and  planting  the  seeds  given  as  a  class  lesson. 


98 


NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 


plants,  the  making  of  two  blades  of  grass  grow  where 
one  grew  before,  the  lesson  of  improvement  by  culture, 
applicable  not  only  to  plants  but  to  everything  else  that 
has  life  and  grows.  It  represents  the  momentous  step  of 
the  race  from  barbarism  to  civilization.  In  this  simple, 
easy,  and  natural  way  we  permit  the  child  to  throw  him- 
self into  the  great  current  of  human  effort,  that  has  clone 


FIG.  41.     Puizu  PLANTS 
Grades  IV-VII,  Upsala  Street  School.     June,  1900.     (Photograph  by  the  author) 

more  than  anything  else  to  uplift  human  life,  and  let  him 
play  and  learn  to  swim  in  it ;  and  we  may  be  sure  that 
no  child  who  has  once  thrown  his  whole  heart  and  soul 
into  this  effort  can  ever  develop  into  quite  the  ruffian 
or  savage  he  might  otherwise  have  become.  Unless  we 
do  introduce  this  element,  the  work  may  fall  to  the  level 
of  meaningless  drudgery.  With  it  the  lesson  epitomizes 


LESSONS    WITH    PLANTS  99 

in  a  tangible,  practical  way  the  universal  struggle  for 
existence,  the  effort  to  do  things  well,  which  is  the  first 
condition  of  all  success  in  life.  It  has  seemed  from  the 
sustained  interest  and  enthusiasm  of  the  children  that 
they  feel  this  truth  instinctively.  Here  is  no  mere  book 
and  word  lesson  the  relation  of  which  to  success  in  life  few 
children  can  adequately  appreciate.  \ft  is  a  mastery  of  tlie 
real  forces  of  nature.  They  must  use  the  sun's  heat  and 
light,  the  air,  water,  and  earth,  and  it  is  a  natural  step  from 
such  a  lesson  to  think,  "  If  I  can  do  this  well,  I  can  suc- 
ceed in  life  itself." 

Of  all  the  wonderful  things  in  the  wonderful  universe  of  God, 
nothing  seems  to  me  more  surprising  than  the  planting  of  a  seed 
in  the  black  earth  and  the  result  thereof.  Take  a  poppy  seed,  for 
instance  :  it  lies  in  your  palm,  the  merest  atom  of  matter,  hardly 
visible,  a  speck,  a  pin's  point  in  bulk,  but  within  it  is  imprisoned  a 
spirit  of  beauty  ineffable,  which  will  break  its  bonds  and  emerge  from 
the  dark  ground  and  blossom  in  a  splendor  so  dazzling  as  to  baffle 
all  powers  of  description.  The  Genie  in  the  Arabian  tale  is  not  half 
so  astonishing.  CELIA  THAXTER,  An  Island  Garden,  p.  3. 

On  the  mental  side,  in  training  the  powers  of  observa- 
tion, the  child  sees  the  wonderful  life  story  of  his  plant  \ 
—  from  seed  through  root,  stem,  leaf,  and  flower  to  seed  ' 
again  —  unfold  under  the  closest  daily  scrutiny  of  which 
he  is  capable.     Not  all  the  books  nor  all  the  plants  in  the 
world  could  teach  him  so  much  as  just  this  one  plant  so 
closely  associated  with  his  own  thinking,  feeling,  willing,\ 
and  doing.    Ability  to  think  for  himself,  reason,  and  experi-  j 
ment  will  be  cultivated  with  every  step.     All  the  power  \ 
gained  stands  naturally  related  to  everything  he  may  do 
in  life.     To  throw  about  his  plant  those  conditions  that 


100  NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 

will  make  it  grow  best,  as  we  have  already  seen  with  the 
care  of  the  pet  animal,  calls  into  play  the  same  logic  as 
is  required  in  taking  the  best  care  of  himself  or  of  any 
human  life  that  may  be  intrusted  to  him. 

For  ages  before  writing  was  invented  literatures  were 
passed  from  one  generation  to  another  by  living  word  of 
mouth.  In  like  manner  no  skilled  gardener  can  even 
tell,  much  less  write  down,  a  hundredth  part  of  what  he 
knows  about  ^raising  plants.  While  we  cannot  neglect 
means  of  expression  in  language  and  drawing,  nature  is 
too  infinitely  complicated  and  life  too  deep  for  our  shal- 
low formulas,  and  the  more  fully  we  take  these  facts  into 
account  the  better.  It  was  thought  at  first  that  the  chil- 
dren might  be  induced  to  keep  diaries  or  records  of  their 
plants,  giving  just  what  they  did  and  just  how  fast  the 
plants  grew  ;  but  it  was  found  that  their  writings  were  of 
little  value,  and  were  even  thought  to  act  as  a  chill  to 
the  spontaneous  interests  of  some  of  the  children.  This 
method  must  be  used  with  great  reserve.  Some  children 
have  a  passion  to  write,  while  in  others  tJie  very  thought  of 
writing  seems  to  benumb  every  impulse.  Oral  lessons,  on 
the  other  hand,  were  eminently  successful,  the  only  diffi- 
culty being,  as  one  teacher  expressed  it,  to  "get  the 
children  to  stop  talking  about  their  plants." 

After  throwing  his  plant  "  over  the  banister  "  because 
it  did  not  grow  fast  enough  to  suit  him,  one  little  boy 
wrote :  "  The  best  thing  one  learns  from  this  lesson  is 
patience.  I  should  like  to  try  it  again  next  year,  to  see 
if  I  can  have  more  patience  than  I  had  this  year."  The 
ethical  value  of  such  a  lesson  is  too  patent  to  require 
comment.  Patience,  carefulness,  faithfulness  in  little 


LESSONS    WITH    PLANTS 


IOI 


things,  continuity  of  purpose  are  all  instilled  uncon- 
sciously without  preaching,  and,  best  of  all,  the  pupils 
come  to  love  their  flowers  as  parents  love  their  children. 

Only  a  little  shrivelled  seed, 
It  might  be  flower,  or  grass,  or  weed; 
Only  a  box  of  earth  on  the  edge 
Of  a  narrow,  dusty  window-ledge  ; 
Only  a  few  scant  summer  showers ; 
Only  a  few  clear,  shining  hours ; 
That  was  all.     Yet  God  could  make 
Out  of  these,  for  a  sick  child's  sake, 
A  blossom-wonder,  as  fair  and  sweet 
As  ever  broke  at  an  angel's  feet. 

VAN  DYKE,  The  Builders,  p.  41. 


CHAPTER    VII 


ELEMENTARY  BOTANY,   FLOWER   CALENDARS,   WAYSIDE 
FLOWERS,   POISONOUS   PLANTS,   WEEDS 

Die  Blume,  die  dein  Auge  heute  sieht, 
Hat  vor  Aeonen  schon  in  Gottes  Geist  gebliiht. 

(The  flower  thine  eye  beholdest  to-day, 
Hath  in  God's  spirit  bloomed  eternally.) 

ANGELUS  SILESIUS,  1650. 

Flowers  are  thoughts  of  the  Spirit  of  God, 
Their  love  is  love  of  his  grace, 

Their  fragrance  is  breath  of  divinity, 
Their  beauty,  the  light  of  his  face. 

LET  us  begin  by  giving  a  few  simple 
language  lessons  to  find  out  what  the 
children  know  and  think  about  the  com- 
mon plants.  We  may  ask  them  first  to 
describe  and  name  the  chief  forms  of 

Plants  that  they  know-      They  wil1  Prob- 

ably  group  them  somewhat  as  indicated 
for  the  higher  plants,  in  the  table  on  the  following  page. 
To  some  of  the  lower  groups  their  attention  will  have  to 
be  called  by  common  specimens  and  descriptions.  Next 
we  may  ask  them  to  write  the  names  of  all  the  plants  they 
know.  After  the  lists  are  handed  in,  one  of  the  pupils 
may  be  asked  to  write  the  following  table  on  the  black- 
board and  all  the  children  to  copy  it  into  their  note- 
books. 

102 


FIG.  42.    BLOODROOT 


ELEMENTARY    BOTANY 


103 


LIST  OF  ALL  KNOWN  PLANTS1 


NUMBER 
OF  KINDS 

CHARACTERISTICS 

FLOWERING  PLANTS 
Trees  in  United  States 

121,961 

(495) 

REPRODUCE  BY  SEED. 
Woody,  single  stem,  trunk  at  least 
20  feet  tall. 
Woody,  diffuse  stems,  bushes. 

Woody,  slender  climbing  stems. 

Herbs 

Non-woody     stems,     dying     to    the 

FLOWERLESS  PLANTS  . 
Ferns  
Mosses  and  Liverworts 
Lichens  .  .  .  .  •  . 

74,586 

3>452 
6,750 
s,6oo 

ground  yearly. 
REPRODUCE  BY  SPORES. 

Algae  .  . 

I  ^.^4. 

Mostly    aquatic,     seaweeds,      green 

Fungi  | 
Bacteria  

Other  kinds  .... 

(48,574)* 
42,860 
970 

5,000 

pond  slimes. 
Mushrooms,  lichens,  mildews,  smuts, 
moulds,  yeasts. 
Plants  smaller  than   the  finest  dust 
that  we  can  see. 

Total      .... 

196,547 

How  many  plants  were  there  in  the  longest  list  ? 

As  we  found  with  animals,  so  with  plants  we  can  hope 
to  learn  even  the  names  of  only  a  small  number,  and  we 
must  select  these,  as  we  do  our  friends,  with  great  care. 
There  are  some  that  we  meet  ^very  day,  so  common  that 
we  ought  to  know  them.  Others  are  so  beautiful  or  fra- 
grant that  we  would  go  far  to  visit  them. 

1  I  am  indebted  for  these  estimates  to  Prof.  George  E.  Stone,  Amherst, 
Mass. 

2  Saccardo's  estimate. 


104  NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 

I  know  of  no  better  device  for  introducing  children  of 
all  grades  to  the  wild  flowers  than  one  quite  commonly 
used  by  local  teachers  but  not  described  in  manuals  of 
nature  study.  I  refer  to  the  Flower  Calendar.  Clear  a 
space  on  the  blackboard  and  write  at  the  top : 

FLOWER   CALENDAR.     1901 

DATE  NAME  OF  FLOWER  Piu-n,  WHO  FIRST  FINDS  IT  IN  BLOOM 

April  3          Hepatica Alice  Smith 

April  9         Bloodroot James  Gary 

and  so  on,  and  at  the  end  of  the  week,  or  when  the  board 
is  full,  have  the  school  copy  the  list  into  their  nature  note- 
books. It  will  form  an  interesting  record,  may  be  referred 
to  often,  may  bring  back  pleasant  school  memories,  and 
be  a  treasure  for  life.  Here  again  we  have  the  spice  of 
rivalry,  the  spirit  of  play,  and  while  some  may  insist  that 
"  work  must  be  work,"  we  never  can  hire  or  whip  a  child 
to  work  half  as  hard  as  he  works  when  he  plays.  It  will 
send  the  children  out  of  doors  to  learn  their  lessons  from 
the  fields  and  woods,  keep  their  eyes  bright  and  wide  open 
on  their  way  to  school,  and  give  them  lifelong  interests, 
acquaintances,  friends. 

Hast  thou  named  all  the  birds  without  a  gun  ? 
Loved  the  wood-rose  and  left  it  on  its  stalk  ? 

O,  be  my  friend,  and  teach  me  to  be  thine. 

EMERSON,  Forbearance. 

Except  with  the  most  common  plants,  encourage  the 
children  to  bring  in  descriptions,  or  only  so  much  as  will 
make  the  identification  possible.  It  is  a  distinct  loss  to 


ELEMENTARY    BOTANY  105 

have  our  rarest  and  most  beautiful  flowers  so  completely 
exterminated  near  our  towns  and  cities  that  few  ever  see 
them  blooming.  A  strong  feature  of  this  work  may  well 
be  the  beautifying  of  roadsides  with  as  great  a  variety  of 
wild  flowers  as  possible,  and  a  good  rule  will  be,  not  to 
pluck  any  roadside  flowers.  Leave  them  for  passers-by 
to  enjoy,  and  gather  only  from  private  fields  where  permis- 
sion is  granted  and  only  such  flowers  as  are  superabundant. 
This  will  leave  no  reason  for  complaints,  often  raised,  that 
interesting  thoughtless  children  in  the  study  of  flowers 
results  in  their  wanton  extermination. 

Wayside  songs  and  meadow  blossoms  ;  nothing  perfect,  nothing  rare; 
Every  poet's  ordered  garden  yields  a  hundred  flowers  more  fair ; 
Master-singers  know  a  music  richer  far  beyond  compare. 

Yet  the  reaper  in  the  harvest,  'mid  the  burden  and  the  heat, 
Hums  a  half  remembered  ballad,  finds  the  easy  cadence  sweet, — 
Sees  the  very  blue  of  heaven  in  the  corn-bloorn  at  his  feet. 

VAN  DYKE,  The  Builders,  p.  42. 

While  the  flower  calendar  may  be  repeated  from  year 
to  year,  and  even  increase  in  interest  by  repetition,  it 
will  not  consume  the  time  nor  supply  all  the  work 
desirable  with  our  flora.  Some  flowers  must  be  studied 
more  thoroughly  than  others,  and  to  avoid  confusion  and 
repetition  from  year  to  year  in  this  work,  we  need  to 
have  a  concerted  plan  understood  and  agreed  upon  by 
the  teachers  of  a  town  or  city,  with  plants  assigned  to 
each  grade.  Such  an  assignment  is  made  in  the  year 
and  grade  plan  at  the  end  of  this  book  and  need  not 
be  repeated  here.  It  is  designed  especially  to  include 
the  flowers  that  every  child  in  New  England  ought  to 


io6 


NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 


know,  and  for  other  sections  the  teachers,  at  some  of  their 
local  meetings,  should  appoint  a  committee  to  arrange  a 

suitable  list. 

It  has  been  thought  by  teach- 
ers of  long  experience  that,  be- 
side the  casual  acquaintance  of 
a  good  many  more,  it  will  not 
be  too  much  to  learn  a  little 
more  fully  twelve  plants  a  year, 
grouping,  drawing,  and  writing 
lessons  about  them.  The  chil- 
dren should  be  directed  to  fol- 
low their  growth,  learn  their 
habitats,  make  collections  of 
their  seeds,  and  be  able  to  tell 
the  plant  by  a  leaf,  flower,  or 
seed.  If  this  be  done  during 
the  eight  grades,  the  children 
should  have  formed  a  practical 
acquaintance  with  about  one 
hundred  of  our  common  plants. 
A  number  of  poisonous  plants 
occur,  either  widely  distributed 
or  locally,  in  the  United  States.1 
Fourteen  of  these  are  included 
in  the  above  lists,  and  they  may 
be  briefly  described  below.  The 

FRINGED  GENTIANS 


FIG.  43. 

(Photographed,  but  not  plucked,  by 
the  author) 


1  V.  K.  Chesnut.  "  Thirty  Poisonous 
Plants  of  the  United  States,"  Farmer's 
Bulletin,  No.  86,  United  States  Depart- 
ment of  Agriculture.  32  pp.,  24  figures.  This  can  be  obtained  gratis  on 
application  to  the  Department  of  Agriculture,  Washington,  D.C. 


ELEMENTARY    BOTANY  107 

others  should  be  carefully  studied  by  teachers  where  they 
abound  and  introduced  into  their  nature  courses.  Every 
parent  and  child  ought  to  know  the  dangers  connected 
with  these  plants,  and  the  general  study  of  them,  as  indi- 
cated, would  result  in  the  saving  of  considerable  suffering, 
sickness,  and  death  year  by  year. 

Poison  Ivy,  Rhus  radicans.  —  [Poison  oak,  three-leaved 
ivy,  mercury,  black  mercury,  markweed,  pikry  (Me.).] 
This  is  a  common  climbing,  sometimes  bushy,  shrub 
about  roadsides  and  orchards.  The  stem  has  aerial  roots 
by  which  it  clings.  The  leaves  are  compound  with  three 
leaflets  irregularly  toothed  and  notched.  They  are  bright 
red  when  they  appear  in  the  spring,  turn  red  again  in  the 
fall,  and  are  frequently  gathered  in  children's  bouquets. 
The  greenish  flowers  appear  in  May  and  June,  and  the 
white  waxy  fruit  remains  through  the  winter.  Through 
ignorance  it  is  sometimes  even  planted  about  houses.  The 
Bulletin  says  :  "  It  is  highly  desirable  that  legal  measures 
be  adopted  compelling  the  destruction  of  these  plants 
where  they  abound  in  cities  and  in  places  of  popular 
resort." 

The  poison  is  a  heavy,  gummy  oil  contained  in  all 
parts  of  the  plant  and  exuded  from  leaves,  bark,  and 
fruit.  This  is  very  non-volatile  and  retains  its  virulence 
unimpaired  in  old  dry  stems  and  leaves,  which,  therefore, 
should  always  be  promptly  burned  in  destroying  the 
plants,  and  care  taken  not  to  inhale  the  smoke.  Imper- 
ceptible amounts,  coming  in  contact  with  the  skin,  cause 
the  characteristic  painful  blisters.  Such  minute  quantities 
are  effective  that  specially  susceptible  persons  are  some- 
times affected  by  merely  walking  near  the  plants,  when 


NATURE    STUDY   AND    LIFE 


it  would  seem  that  either  pollen  or  particles  of  dust  that 
had  absorbed  the  oil  from  the  leaves  must  be  carriers  for 
the  poison.  Ordinary  washing,  even  with  soap,  merely 


FIG.  44.    POISON  IVY 


spreads  the  oil  and  serves  to  rub  it  in.  If  poisoning  has 
occurred,  or  if  there  has  been  serious  exposure  in  hand- 
ling or  destroying  the  plants,  affected  or  exposed  parts 
should  be  bathed  in  a  strong  solution  of  lead  acetate  in 


ELEMENTARY    BOTANY 


109 


dilute  alcohol  (alcohol  one-fourth  to  one-half  water,  with 

as  much  sugar  of  lead  as  will  dissolve  cold).     This  will 

quickly  neutralize  the  poison  and  prevent  further  injury. 

Clothes,  towels,  even  the  handles  of  tools  that  have  been 

used  by  those  engaged  in  destroying  poison  ivy,  must  be 

thoroughly  washed  in  strong 

hot  soapsuds,  or  in  the  lead 

acetate  solution,  before 

being   allowed    to    come    in 

contact   with  any  one   else. 

The  sugar  of  lead  solution 

is  itself  poisonous,  if  taken 

internally. 

We  cannot,  of  course,  ask 
children  to  bring  in  speci- 
mens of  such  a  plant,  and 
none  of  it  should  be  allowed 
exposed  about  the  school- 
room. It  may  generally  be 
pointed  out  in  the  first  excur- 
sion with  the  children,  or 
the  teacher  may  take  proper 
precautions  and  press  speci- 
mens of  leaves,  stems, 
flowers,  and  fruit  and  mount  them  between  two  plates  of 
glass,  as  described  for  insects.  This  also  applies  to  the 
other  plants  that  are  poisonous  to  the  touch. 

Poison  Sumac,  Rhus  vernix.  —  [Swamp  sumac,  dogwood 
(Mass.),  poison  elder  (Ala.),  poison  ash  (Vt.),  thunderwood 
(Ga.,  Va.).]  This  is  a  treelike  shrub  six  to  thirty  feet  tall, 
with  slender  pinnate  leaves  of  seven  to  thirteen  leaflets, 


FIG.  45.     POISON  SUMAC  WITH  FRUIT. 


I  10 


NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 


without  marginal  teeth.  Its  very  prominent  leaf  scars  are 
sufficient  to  distinguish  it  from  other  shrubs  in  winter. 
It  grows  in  swamps  and  damp  woods  from  Florida  to 
Canada  and  westward  to  Louisiana. 

It  is  poisonous  to  the  skin  in  the  same  way  as  poison 
ivy  and  requires  the  same  precautions  in  handling  and 
the  same  treatment. 

Poison  Oak,  Rkus  diversiloba.  —  (Poison  ivy,  yeara,  Cali- 
fornia poison  sumac.)  This  is  a  western  plant  of  the 
same  class  with  the  two  preceding  and  should  be  treated 
in  the  same  way.1 

Poison  Hemlock,  Conium  maculatum.  —  (Hemlock,  wild 
hemlock,  spotted  parsley,  stinkweed,  poison  root,  poison 
snakeweed,  cashes,  wode-whistle.) 
Poison  hemlock  is  a  hollow-stemmed 
biennial,  two  to  seven  feet  tall,  stems 
smooth  and  purple  spotted,  widely 
distributed  about  roadsides  and  waste 
lands.  The  flowers  are  white,  appear- 
ing in  July  and  August.  The  leaves 
have  an  extremely  nauseating  taste 
and  when  bruised  emit  a  characteristic 
"  mousy"  odor.  Poisoning  occurs  by 
eating  the  seeds  or  roots  or  even  by 
blowing  whistles  made  from  the  hol- 
low stems.  It  probably  furnished 
FIG.  46.  POI'SON  HEMLOCK  the  Poison  administered  to  Socrates. 

1  The  nomenclature  for  all  these  poisonous  plants  is  here  given  according 
to  Bulletin  ATo.  86,  and  so  much  confusion  exists  that  it  would  be  a  great 
desideratum  if  the  names  could  be  fixed  and  made  reasonably  uniform  for 
the  whole  country  by  means  of  nature-study  lessons  in  the  public  schools. 


ELEMENTARY    BOTANY  III 

Many  domestic  animals  are  killed  by  eating  the  plant  in 
hay.  It  should  be  exterminated  by  hand  pulling  before 
the  seeds  mature. 

Water  Hemlock,  Cicuta  maculata.  —  (Spotted  parsley, 
snakeweed,  beaver  poison,  musquash  root,  muskrat  weed, 
cowbane,  spotted  cowbane,  children's  bane,  death  of  man.) 
This  is  a  smooth,  erect  perennial,  three  to  six  feet  tall,  stiff 
hollow  stem,  streaked  with  purple,  twice  to  thrice  decom- 
pound leaves  with  leaflets  finely  serrated,  the  veins  run- 
ning mostly  to  the  notches  instead  of,  as  usual,  to  the 
points  of  the  teeth.  The  plant  is  easily  recognized  by 
the  root,  which  consists  of  a  clump  of  thick  fleshy  tubers, 
each  from  one  to  three  inches  long.  It  is  quite  common 
in  swamps  and  wet  pastures  throughout  the  United  States 
and  Canada,  but  less  common  in  the  arid  regions  west  of 
the  Mississippi.  The  flowers  are  white,  in  umbels  two  to 
three  inches  across,  and  appear  in  August. 

The  root  is  especially  dangerous,  because  of  its  whole- 
some appearance  and  aromatic  taste,  which  often  tempts 
children  to  eat  it.  No  estimate  of  the  annual  damage  to 
stock  can  be  made.  Cattle  are  sometimes  poisoned  by 
eating  the  roots  and  even  by  drinking  the  water  of  pools 
into  which  these  have  been  trampled. 

For  nature  study,  children  in  every  school,  city  and 
country,  should  be  given  a  clear  idea  of  this  plant,  —  root, 
stem,  leaf,  flower,  and  seed,  —  and  in  rural  districts  they 
should  make  careful  surveys  to  discover  its  abundance 
and  distribution  and  adopt  practicable  measures  for  its 
extermination. 

Pokeweed,  Phytolacca  decandra.  —  This  is  not  very  poi- 
sonous, and  its  succulent  shoots  are  widely  esteemed  for 


112 


NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 


FIG.  47.    WATER  HEMLOCK 


greens  in  the  spring,  and  may  be  so  used  if  care  be  taken 
not  to  include  any  of  the  root,  which  is  bitter  and  poisonous. 
Cases  of  poisoning  sometimes  occur  from  eating  the  berries, 


ELP:MENTARY  BOTANY 


probably  on  account  of  poison  contained  in  the  seeds. 
It  is  a  valuable  bird-food  plant  and  is  highly  ornamental 
in  its  clean,  robust  growth  and  masses  of  purple-black 
berries,  and  may  be  grown  with  impunity  and  even  advan- 
tage if  the  above  simple  precautions  are  understood. 

Corn  Cockle,  Agrostemma  githago. — This  is  a  well-known, 
pretty,  purple-red  flower  of  the  grain  fields.  Poisoning 
occurs  among  poultry  and  all  sorts 
of  domestic  animals  from  eating  the 
seeds  in  screenings  or  ground  feed. 
People  are  sometimes  poisoned  by 
low-grade  flour  made  from  wheat 
containing  the  seeds.  This  can 
generally  be  distinguished  by  black 
particles  from  the  seed  coats  and 
by  a  peculiar  odor  when  the  flour  is 
moistened.  This  plant  should  be 
more  generally  understood,  and 
great  care  should  be  taken  not  to  sow 
grain  containing  its  seeds. 

Black  Cherry,   Primus  serotina.  — 
(Wild  cherry,  rum  cherry.)     This  is 
a  valuable  forest  and  cabinet-wood 
tree,  and  its  loads  of  black  cherries 

make  it  one  of  our  most  important  bird-food  trees.  The 
fruit  may  be  eaten  with  impunity  if  the  seeds  be  discarded, 
but  it  should  be  commonly  understood  that  the  kernels 
and  leaves  may  contain  prussic  acid  in  amounts  sufficient 
to  cause  serious  poisoning.  Children  should  be  cautioned 
against  eating  the  kernels,  and  freshly  cut  branches  should 
not  be  thrown  where  stock  may  eat  them. 


FIG.  48.    CORN  COCKLE 


114  NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 

Red  Buckeye  and  Common  Horse-Chestnut,  sEsculus  pavia 
and  kippocastanum.  —  Both  contain  active  poisons  in  their 
seeds  and  fresh  leaves  and  twigs.  Fish  may  be  stupefied 
by  stirring  the  crushed  nuts  and  twigs  into  small  pools. 
Poisoning  may  occur  from  eating  these  parts,  but  the 
bitter  taste  serves,  in  general,  as  a  sufficient  safeguard. 

Broad-Leaf  Laurel,  Kalmia  latifolia.  —  (Laurel,  north  of 
Maryland,  ivy,  south  of  Maryland,  mountain  laurel,  sheep 
laurel,  poison  laurel,  wood  laurel,  small  laurel,  high  laurel, 


FIG.  49.    DATURA 
Beautiful  but  dangerous.     (Photograph  by  Charles  Irving  Rice) 

American  laurel,  poison  ivy,  ivy  bush,  ivy  wood,  big  ivy, 
calico  bush,  spoonwood,  kalmia,  wicky.)  Laurel  is  too  well 
known  to  need  description.  It  is  our  most  beautiful  native 


ELEMENTARY    BOTANY 


shrub  by  reason  of  its  polished  evergreen  leaves  and  pro- 
fusion of  exquisite  flowers.  In  very  rare  cases  sensitive 
people  are  said  to  experience  discomfort  if  too  large  quan- 
tities of  the  flowers  are  kept  in  their  rooms,  but  it  can  safely 


FIG.  50.     CAPER  SPURGE 


FIG.  51.     SNOW  ON  THE  MOUNTAIN 


be  handled  and  enjoyed  all  the  usual  ways  with  perfect 
impunity.  The  only  precautions  necessary  are  to  prevent 
animals  not  accustomed  to  it  from  eating  the  leaves. 
Even  goats  have  been  known  to  die  from  this  cause. 

Narrow-Leaf  Laurel,  Kalmia  angustifolia.  —  (Sheep  laurel, 
lambkill,  sheep  poison,  lamb  laurel,  small  laurel,  low  laurel, 
dwarf  laurel,  wicky.)  This  shrub  is  dangerous  in  the  same 
way  as  its  larger  cousin. 

Jimson  Weed,  Datura  stramonium  and  D.  tatula  (the  taller 
and  purple-flowered  species).  —  [Jamestown  weed,  common 
stramonium,  thorn  apple,  apple  of  Peru,  devil's  apple, 


NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 


stinkwort,  stinkweed,  Jamestown  lily,  white  man's  plant 
(by  the  Indians).]  This  is  a  rank  ill-smelling  weed, 
common  in  vacant  lots,  rubbish  heaps,  roadsides,  and 
waste  places.  It  is  a  stout,  bushy  annual  with  coarse, 
smooth  stems,  two  to  five  feet  high,  and  large  flaccid 
leaves.  The  flowers  are  white  (or  purplish),  shaped  some- 
what like  a  morning-glory,  "  heavy  scented,"  from  two  to 
four  inches  long,  and  appear  from  May  to  September  (the 
fruit  ripening  from  August  to  November),  according  to 
latitude.  The  fruit  is  a  large,  con- 
spicuous, prickly,  four-valved  pod 
containing  great  numbers  of  dark 
roughened  seeds. 

Cases  of  poisoning  arise  from 
the  use  of  the  plant  as  a  stimulant 
or  medicine,  from  children  eating 
the  seeds  or  playing  with  the 
flowers  (holding  them  in  their 
mouths),  and  with  cattle  from  eat- 
ing the  plants  in  hay.  The  jimson 
weed  should  be  much  better  known, 
and  no  child  should  permit  one  to 
ripen  its  innumerable  seeds. 

Caper  Spurge,  Euphorbia  lathyris. 
—  (Garden  spurge,  mole  plant, 
gopher  plant,  wolf's  milk,  springwort.)  This  spurge  is  a 
garden,  roadside,  and  pasture  perennial,  common  over 
most  of  the  United  States  and  Canada.  The  milky  juice 
is  extremely  acrid,  and  the  fruit  is  poisonous.  Women 
and  children  are  often  poisoned  by  handling  the  plant  or 
by  getting  the  juice  on  the  hands  or  face. 


FIG.  52.     DWARF  LARKSPUR 


ELEMENTARY   BOTANY  1 1? 

Snow  on  the  Mountain,  Euphorbia  marginata.  —  This  is 
an  erect  annual,  two  to  four  feet  high,  conspicuous  for 
the  white  margins  of  its  leaves.  It  is  often  listed  in  seed 
catalogues  and  planted  for  ornament.  Poisoning  com- 
monly occurs  through  honey  gathered  from  its  flowers, 
large  quantities  of  autumn  honey  being  yearly  rendered 
unsalable  by  the  presence  of  this  plant.  Like  the  preced- 
ing spurge  its  acrid  juice  on  delicate  skins  not  infrequently 
causes  blisters  and  inflammation  similar  to  that  produced 
by  poison  ivy. 

Other  poisonous  plants  are  : 

Death-Cup  Mushrooms,  of  the  genus  Amanita,  described  under 
fungi. 

American  False  Hellebore,  Veratrum  iiiride  (white  hellebore, 
swamp  hellebore,  Indian  poke,  poke  root,  Indian  uncus,  crow  poison, 
devil's  bite,  duckretter,  itch  weed,  bugbane,  wolfsbane,  bear  corn). 

Dwarf  Larkspur,  Delphinium  tricorne,  Stagger  Weed  (O.),  and 
Purple  Larkspur,  D.  menziesii. 

Woolly  Loco  Weed,  Astragalus  mollissimus  and  Stemless  Loco 
Weed,  A.  Lambertii. 

Rattlebox,  Crotalaria  sagittalis. 

Oregon  Water  Hemlock,  Cicuta  vagans. 

Great  Laurel,  Rhododendron  maximum. 

Staggerbush,  Pier  is  mariana. 

Branch  Ivy,  Leucothoe  catesbcei. 

Black  Nightshade,  Solatium  nigrum. 

Bittersweet,  Solanum  dulcamara. 

Sneezeweed,  Helenium  autumnale. 

It  is  certainly  no  more  than  common  sense  should  dic- 
tate to  provide  adequate  instruction  about  these  plants 
wherever  they  abound.  The  school,  by  cooperation  of 
teachers,  intelligent  parents,  and  pupils,  should  provide 
a  neatly  labeled  collection.  The  specimens  should  be 


Il8  NATURE    STUDY   AND    LIFE 

mounted  so  that  they  may  be  handled  and  studied  with- 
out danger,  and  kept  in  a  drawer  or  suitable  box  by  itself 
and  labeled  : 

POISONOUS    PLANTS 

OF    THIS    LOCALITY.1 

Weeds.  —  A  weed  is  a  plant  that  persists  in  growing 
where  it  is  not  wanted.  This  insistent  impudence,  the 
vigor  and  tenacious  hold  on  life,  the  great  number  of 
seeds  produced,  and  the  numerous  devices  weeds  employ 
to  secure  their  distribution,  the  brigandish  crowding 
aside  and  killing  down  of  all  other  plants  within  reach, 
all  tend  to  constitute  the  weeds  a  most  interesting  group 
of  plants  to  study. 

We  may  first  ask  the  class  to  write  the  names  of  all 
the  weeds  they  know.  For  another  lesson  let  the  pupils 
write  descriptions  of  the  more  important  and  interesting 
plants  on  their  lists,  giving  their  life  stories,  telling  when 
they  blossom,  and  especially  when  they  begin  to  ripen 
their  seeds.  After  these  lessons  we  may  make  an  excur- 
sion around  the  school  yard  and  count  the  different  kinds 
of  weeds  found  growing  in  the  area. 

A  lessen  that  never  fails  to  interest  the  children  may 
be  arranged  by  having  them  fill  a  number  of  flowerpots 
with  earth  from  different  sources, — from  their  gardens, 
from  different  levels  in  some  freshly  dug  cellar,  from  the 
bottom  of  the  pond,  etc.  Keep  them  in  a  warm  place 
and  watch  the  different  plants  as  they  come  up.  Many 
interesting  questions  will  arise  as  to  how  the  weed  seeds 
got  into  the  soil  and  how  long  they  may  remain  dormant. 

1  In  making  this  collection  such  plants  as  are  poisonous  to  the  touch 
may  be  handled  by  means  of  pieces  of  newspaper. 


ELEMENTARY    BOTANY  119 

Study  the  seeds  of  ten  of  the  most  troublesome  weeds 
in  the  neighborhood.  Select  large  vigorous  plants,  and 
estimate  the  number  of  seeds  produced.  A  Russian 
thistle  has  been  found  to  produce  about  20,000  seeds, 
and  a  single  plant  of  purslane  about  1,250,000  seeds.  We 
may  next  investigate  the  methods  of  seed  dissemination 
and  arrange  an  instructive  school  collection  that  will  show 
the  various  devices  adopted  by  different  weeds.  As  a 
concluding  lesson  we  may  take  samples  of  different  grains, 
—  wheat,  oats,  barley,  rye,  clover,  and  the  different  grass 
seeds,  —  and  each  pupil  may  examine  a  small  quantity 
and  report  the  number  of  weed  seeds  discovered. 

Weeds  have  been  called  by  some  the  "  farmer's 
friends."  How  can  this  be  so  ?  They  necessitate  good 
cultivation  of  the  soil,  and  this  is  of  great  benefit  to 
the  growing  crops.  They  compel  the  farmer  or  gardener 
to  keep  the  ground  well  occupied  with  vigorous  useful 
plants.  Certainly  not  all  weeds  are  friends,  and  after 
proper  methods  of  cultivation  have  been  attained,  they 
only  make  the  work  more  difficult.  Weeds  like  the 
thistle,  dandelion,  or  milkweed,  the  seeds  of  which  may 
be  carried  long  distances  by  the  winds,  or  which  are 
likely  to  be  carried  by  other  means,  may  be  a  cause  of 
serious  damage  to  neighboring  fields.  This  brings  us 
to  the  final  topic  for  study,  viz.,  the  weed  laws  of  the 
state.  Obtain  a  copy  of  these  laws  and  discuss  them 
with  the  class.1 

1  Lyster  H.  Dewey.  "  Two  Hundred  Weeds :  How  to  know  them  and 
how  to  kill  them,"  1895,  and  "Legislation  against  Weeds."  Bulletin 
No.  77,  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture,  Washington,  D.C.,  1896. 
This  gives  all  the  laws  of  the  different  states  regarding  weeds. 


120 


CHAPTER    VIII 

GARDEN    STUDIES 

HOME  AND  SCHOOL  GARDENS 

Spacious  and  fair  is  the  world ;  yet  oh  !  how  I  thank  the  kind  heavens 
That  I  a  garden  possess,  small  though  it  be,  yet  mine  own. 
One  which  enticeth  me  homewards ;  why  should  a  gardener  wander  ? 
Honor  and  pleasure  he  finds,  when  to  his  garden  he  looks. 

GOETHE. 

EACH  of  the  children  of  the  German  emperor  has  a 
garden  of  his  own  in  which  he  works  and  sees  plants 
grow  from  his  own  sowing,  and  learns  innumerable  things 
that  books  and  the  best  of  instructors  could  never  teach. 

When  we  consider  the  fundamental  relations  of  the  race 
to  the  soil  and  its  culture  and  products,  and  when  We 
remember  that  the  establishment  of  these  relations  con- 
stituted the  greatest  uplift  of  the  race  toward  civilization, 
we  realize  that  to  leave  soil  lore  out  of  a  plan  of  public 
education  is  likely  to  prove  reversion  toward  barbarism. 
The  vandalism,  juvenile  and  even  adult,  that  renders 
pursuit  of  horticulture  in  a  New  England  city  or  town 
well-nigh  impossible  must  be  accounted  a  first  fruit  of 
this  unwise  neglect.1  It  would  also  seem  that  failure 

1  Recent  studies  (Flynt)  have  shown  that  our  tramps  are  the  natural 
product  of  our  school  system,  not  foreign  born,  as  we  are  commonly 
tempted  to  suppose.  Their  manner  of  life  demonstrates  with  remarkable 
force  a  reversion  to  nomadic  ways. 

121 


122  NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 

of  usual  methods  of  control  --  repression,  preaching, 
policing,  and  punishment  —  had  amply  demonstrated  their 
futility,  and  naturally,  because  in  a  child  that  has  never 
reared  anything  of  his  own  there  is  little  or  no  foundation 
upon  which  to  build  regard  for  the  rights  of  others  in 
these  respects. 

Since  Froebel  wrote,  this  subject  has  been  long  in  gain- 
ing due  recognition,  but  it  is  now  making  rapid  headway 
under  the  influence  of  educational  leaders  both  abroad  and 
in  this  country.  But,  while  a  few  things  are  sprouted  in 
sawdust,  chiefly  for  technical  lessons  in  "  botany,"  the 
practical  absence  of  the  subject  from  text-books  on  nature 
study  now  issuing  from  the  press  is  reason  for  profound 
regret. 

A  garden  is  a  part,  and  we  might  with  truth  say  a 
necessary  part,  of  the  home.  It  is  thus  to  the  home 
garden,  the  relation  of  children  to  it,  its  possibilities  and 
its  educational  values  that  I  shall  direct  chief  attention  ; 
and  upon  the  presence  or  absence  of  home  gardens  must 
depend  largely  what  we  attempt  to  do  in  school  gardens. 

The  relation  of  the  child  to  the  home  garden  is  a 
proverbially  painful  one.  )  This  is  mainly  due  to  his  lack 
of  ownership,  responsibility  and,  consequently,  spontane- 
ous and  creative  interest  in  it.  He  is  used_in  the  garden 
as  a  mere  slave  or  tool  to  do  the  drudgery  and  disagreeable 
work  and  naturally  comes  to  loathe  it  accordingly.  Even 
this  drudgery  may  be  better  for  the  child  than  no  garden 
training  at  all,  but  it  is  apt  to  leave  so  many  disagreeable 
associations  in  his  mind  that  he  will  hate  gardens  for 
the  rest  of  his  life  and  permit  this  important  part  of  his 
children's  education  to  lapse. 


GARDEN    STUDIES  123 

Another  reason  for  the  decline  of  the  home  garden  is 
found  in  the  increase  of  weeds,  noxious  insects,  caused  by 
wanton  destruction  or  neglect  of  our  insectivorous  animals, 
and  fungous  diseases,  mildews,  rusts,  blights,  and  moulds. 
All  these  things  conspire  to  render  gardening  unnaturally 
and  unnecessarily  difficult.  For  one  individual  to  fight 
against  these  things  in  a  small  city  lot  is  a  hopeless  task. 
It  is  the  old  story  of  the  broom  against  the  ocean.  These 
great  forces  of  living  nature  enforce  the  brotherhood  of 
man.  Each  must  do  his  part,  and  all  must  cooperate  for 
the  common  good,  and  if  properly  understood  and  util- 
ized, the  good  forces  in  nature  can  largely  be  balanced 
against  the  evil  and  thus  gardening  be  relieved  of  many 
of  its  most  discouraging  features.  But  at  present  people 
do  not  even  know  the  names  of  the  insects  and  fungi 
that  are  doing  the  most  harm  in  their  own  back  yards, 
and  scarcely  one  in  a  hundred  has  any  conception  of  the 
things  that  are  doing  the  most  good.  How  can  we  lay 
the  necessary  foundation  of  common  knowledge  of  these 
forces  in  nature  except  through  our  system  of  universal 
education  ?  And,  further,  these  important  common  proc- 
esses going  on  about  us  form  the  most  normal  basis  for 
lifelong  interest  and  intimacy  with  nature.  When  a  begin- 
ning is  made,  some  of  our  greatest  difficulties  become 
most  fascinating  studies.  For  example,  as  soon  as  we 
realize  that  codling  moths  have  ruined  all  the  apples  on  our 
trees,  and  during  the  winter  are  hiding  under  the  scales 
of  bark  on  their  trunks,  it  is  with  a  thrill  of  delight  that 
we  see  a  downy  woodpecker  industriously  pecking  into 
one  scale  after  the  other  and  extracting  the  larvae.  Or 
when  our  cherry  trees  have  been  black  masses  of  aphids, 


124  NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 

if  we  see  a  chickadee  in  winter  going  through  his  trapeze 
performances  as  he  picks  out  the  little  black  eggs  from 
behind  the  buds,  we  feel  like  encouraging  his  presence 
in  every  way  we  can.  He  becomes  thenceforth  an  inter- 
esting friend  of  ours  for  life.  And  so  it  is  with  a  thousand 
other  things.  Knowledge  lives  and  grows,  if  we  have  this 
common  ground,  these  fundamental  interests,  about  which 
to  group  our  otherwise  unrelated  observations.  Lacking 
this,  everything  falls  apart,  and  the  whole  becomes  a 
chaotic,  unorganized  affair.  Adults  may  be  able  to  form 
more  abstract,  idealized  relations  with  nature,  but  even 
this  is  rare,  and  we  cannot  hope  to  establish  them  whole- 
sale with  children. 

|The  garden  thus  becomes  not  only  a  vital  part  j  of  a 
child's  education  in  itself,  but  the  great  center,  the  heart 
of  vitalizing  influences  and  interests  that  radiate  into 
nature  in  every  direction. 

The  status  of  children  demands  a  thorough  revival  of  this 
work.  In  the  first  place,  children  of  native  New  England 
parentage  are  becoming  very  few.  Our  vital  statistics  are 
complicated  by  foreign  immigration ;  but  it  is  probably 
safe  to  say  that  in  our  strictly  native  New  England  popu- 
lation there  are  more  deaths  than  births.  We  often 
hear  France  alluded  to  in  this  connection,  but  official 
statistics  for  New  Hampshire  (1892)  show  that  to  every 
1000  inhabitants  there  are  19.1  births  and  20.1  deaths. 
In  France  the  ratio  is  22.1  births  to  22.6  deaths.  As 
a  whole,  New  England  stands  third  lowest,  24.9  birth 
rate  per  1000  population  ;  France,  22.1  ;  Ireland,  22.4  ; 
Germany,  35.7;  Hungary,  40.3;  and,  despite  her  lower 
death  rate,  she  stands  also  third  lowest  in  increase  of 


GARDEN    STUDIES  125 

population  from  this  vital  source.  From  strong  families 
of  six  to  ten  children  we  have  dropped  in  a  single  genera- 
tion to  families  of  one,  two,  or  none,  so  that  writers  abroad 
are  pointing  to  New  England  as  the  most  glaring  example 
of  sudden  racial  degeneration  on  record.  And  with  our 
few  children,  why  is  it  that  we  see  so  many  advertisements 
"  House  to  let  to  family  of  aclults  "  ?  Simply  because 
children  are  not  properly  trained,  are  idle  and  consequently 
mischievous  and  destructive.  Give  them  interests  and 
work  to  do  in  upbuilding  the  home,  and  they  will  not  tear 
it  down.  Formerly  children  were  helpful  members  of  the 
household,  and  while  sometimes  they  were  forced  to  work 
too  hard,  even  that  was  better  for  them  than  idleness. 

.  In  cities  one  of  the  hardest  of  family  problems  is  how  to 
keep  the  children  interested  and  healthfully  employed  at 
home.  Where  even  a  little  land  is  available  this  problem 
may  be  solved  in  such  wise  that  these  advertisements  will 
be  changed  to  read  :  "House  to  rent  to  family  with  two 
or  more  children  ;  no  family  without  children  need  apply." 

How  this  may  be  accomplished  with  only  wholesome 
exercise,  without  drudgery,  is  a  problem  which  must  be 
worked  out  largely  for  each  individual   child,  and   upon 
which  the  best  thought  and  effort  of  both  teachers  and 
parents   should   be   focused.      Only  a  few  more  general 
elements  of  its  solution  can  be  here  suggested. 
S    The  element  of  prime  importance  is  individual  owner- 
f    ship  by  the  child. 

Probably  the  best  way  to  teach  selfishness  is  to  try  to 
teach  unselfishness  too  early.  The  passion  for  ownership 
is  coextensive  with  life.  It  is  an  expression  of  "The  Will 
to  Live."  It  is  as  universal  as  hunger.  It  begins  in  the 


.-t~"v      * 


'.  .A* -A  «f^y 

AV'i      ,   I*.    >#*•,      , 


FIG.  54.    PLANTER  AND  OWNER  OF  PEACH  TREES 
Old  Mixon,  fifth  year  from  seed 


GARDEN    STUDIES  I2/ 

living  series  when  an  amoeba  swallows  a  particle  of  food. 
By  the  effort  put  forth  in  the  act  of  swallowing,  the  par- 
ticle becomes  the  amoeba's  property  for  the  sustenance  of 
its  life.  With  man  it  is  the  foundation  of  government 
and  social  organization,  as  well  as  the  chief  incentive  to 
labor,  invention,  and  discovery.  "  From  the  old  stone  age 
upward  so  far  as  we  can  trace  the  history  of  man,"  says 
Dr.  Brinton,  "the  one  efficient  motive  to  his  progress 
has  been  the  acquisition  and  the  preservation  of  his  prop- 
erty. This  has  been  the  immediate  aim  of  all  his  arts 
and  institutions,  and  the  chief  incentive  to  individual 
exertion."  L.  H.  Morgan  says  that  "  monogamy  resulted 
from  increase  and  variety  of  property  through  the  estab- 
lishment of  inheritance  in  the  children  of  its  owner  ;  the 
influence  of  property  in  the  civilization  of  mankind  it  is 
impossible  to  overestimate.  It  was  the  real  power  that 
brought  the  Aryan  and  Semitic  nations  out  of  barbarism 
into  civilization."  1 

Far  from  being  antagonistic  to  unselfishness  and  altru- 
ism, the  desire  for  ownership  is  their  necessary  forerunner, 
their  normal  preparatory  and  embryonic  phase,  for  no 
man  can  give  until  he  possesses  something  worth  giving. 
The  more  he  possesses,  the  greater  his  power  for  good."! 
Mental  power  and  acquisition  of  knowledge  and  skill  in 
this  regard  are  like  material  property.  Abuses  of  this 
power  naturally  occur,  and  we  find  exceptional  cases  of 
arrest  in  this  normal  process  of  development.  But  the 
miser  has  stood  scarecrow  too  long. 

1  Linus  W.  Kline  and  C.  J.  France.     "The  Psychology  of  Ownership," 
Pedagogical  Seminary,  vol.  vi,  pp.  421-470. 


128  NATURE  STUDY  AND  LIFE 

Kline  and  France  in  their  study  of  the  Psychology  of 
Ownership  have  shown  that  extreme  selfishness,  the  desire 
to  own  and  to  keep,  is  normal  to  childhood.  Through  its 
natural  exercise  and  development  the  child  learns  in  the 
only  real  way  possible  to  appreciate  the  property  rights 
of  others.  With  adolescence  he  blossoms  into  altruism, 
which,  unless  blighted,  ripens  into  valuable  life  work.. 

Another  point,  attested  by  common  experience,  isfthat 
unless  effort  is  put  forth  toward  attainment  of  an  object^ 
its  value  is  not  appreciated.  The  most  worthless  things 
for  which  a  child  has  hunted  or  into  which  he  has  thrown 
his  work  become  the  treasures  of  his  life.  The  most 
costly  things,  no  matter  how  beautiful  or  interesting, 
lavished  upon  him  without  this  inner  relation  to  his  will, 
remain  but  so  much  rubbish,  ''pearls  before  swine." 
What  can  be  better  calculated  to  call  forth  a  child's  best 
activities  and,  after  due  patience,  to  crown  his  efforts 
with  possessions  of  solid  value  than  cultivation  of  fruits 
or  flowers  ?  And  what  other  occupations  stand  in  such 
fundamental  relation  to  life  and  civilization?  Other  "his- 
toric occupations"  are  special  and  technical,  besides  being 
dead  and  antiquated,  in  comparison  with  this  ;  while  this 
must  remain  perennially  in  vital  relations  to  life. 

The  way  in  which  parents  approach  this  problem  will 
naturally  vary  with  differences  of  opinion.  But  those 
who  appreciate  the  point  of  view  suggested  will  begin  by 
apportioning  to  each  child,  at  three,  four,  or  five  years  of 
age,  some  little  plot  of  ground  that  he  can  call  his  own. 
They  will  furnish  him,  or  allow  him  to  earn,  tools  of  his 
own, —  a  trowel,  rake,  seed  box,  —  give  him  a  place  to  keep 
them  and  instruct  him  in  the  proper  care  of  them.  They 


GARDEN    STUDIES  129 

will  hunt  over  garden  catalogues  with  him  and  encourage 
him  to  form  his  own  plans,  select  the  things  he  wishes  to 
raise,  and  give  him  necessary  information.  Then  if  the 
child  chooses  to  raise  something  of  real  value  to  the 
household,  they  may  pay  him  the  market  price  for  it  and 
encourage  him  to  start  a  savings-bank  account  of  his  own. 
Year  by  year,  as  the  children  grow  in  ability,  the  parents 
will  gradually  increase  the  size  of  their  gardens,  give  to 
this  one  an  apple  tree,  to  another  a  grapevine,  to  another 
the  crimson  rambler  by  the  porch,  and  so  on,  thus  appor- 
tioning the  nature  property  of  the  home  where  it  will 
yield  the  greatest  amount  of  education  to  their  children. 
They  will  thus  gradually  and  naturally  increase  respon- 
sibilities and  opportunities  for  creative  and  productive 
work. 

This  work  will,  of  course,  take  every  possible  direction 
according  to  the  circumstances  and  needs  of  the  home. 
A  well-kept  garden  can  easily  supply  half  the  living  of  a 
family,  and  the  fresh  vegetables  and  fruits,  which  are 
beyond  all  comparison  superior  to  the  stale  products  of 
the  markets,  may  have  a  wonderful  influence  upon  the 
health  of  the  household.  But,  if  these  things  are  not 
considered  desirable,  the  land  at  disposal  may  be  devoted 
to  ornamental  plants  and  the  home  be  made  a  paradise  of 
flowers  and  trees. 

If  the  boy  cannot  have  the  care  of  a  little  garden  of  his  own,  he 
should  have  at  least  a  few  plants  in  boxes  or  flower  pots,  filled  not 
with  rare  and  delicate  or  double  plants,  but  with  such  as  are  com- 
mon, rich  in  leaves  and  blossoms,  and  thrive  easily.  The  child,  or 
boy,  who  has  nursed  and  cared  for  another  living  thing,  although  it 
be  of  a  much  lower  order,  will  be  led  more  easily  to  guard  and  foster 


130  NATURE    STUDY   AND    LIFE 

his  own  life.  At  the  same  time  the  care  of  plants  will  satisfy  his 
longing  to  observe  other  living  things,  such  as  beetles,  butterflies, 
and  birds,  for  these  seek  the  vicinity  of  plants.  Translated  from 
FROEBEL'S  Menschen-Erziehung,  p.  69. 

Finally,  we  must  begin  young.  "  Give  a  child  large 
interests,  and  give  them  young''  *  Early  impressions  are 
proverbially  deep.  By  eight  or  nine  the  child's  brain  has 
practically  attained  its  adult  size.  While  refinement  of 
structure  may  go  on  even  into  mature  age,  the  funda- 
mental lines  are  laid  down,  and  the  basal  habits  and  phi- 
losophy of  life  are  pretty  solidly  established.  If  habits  of 
indolence,  carelessness,  or  possibly  vice  have  been  formed, 
and  vitiated  tastes  and  appetites  have  been  allowed  to 
develop,  the  reformation  will  be  so  much  harder  and  the 
results  fragmentary  and  unsatisfactory.  And  this  work  is 
so  fundamental,  simple,  and  primitive  that  young  children, 
excepting  only  the  abnormal  and  spoiled,  will  enter  into 
it  with  delight  and  by  this  act  enter  into  civilization. 

f      To  lead  children  early  to  think,  this  I  hold  as  the  first  and  most    J 
\  important  object  of  child-training. 

To  train  the  children  early  to  work  and  industry  seemed  to  him, 
the  ideal  father,  so  natural,  and  matter  of  course  as  to  need  no  state- 
ment. Besides  the  child  that  has  been  led  to  think  is  it  not  led,  at 
the  same  time,  to  industry  and  diligence  —  to  all  virtues  of  home  and 
country  ? 

Those  words  are  a  seed  from  which  develops  a  shady  evergreen 
tree  of  life,  full  of  fragrant  blossoms  and  sound,  ripe  fruit.  Let  us 
hear  and  heed  this  who  allow  our  children  to  grow  up  thoughtless 
and  idle,  and  therefore  dead. 

But  —  it  is  hard,  yet  true,  as  will  appear  if,  in  our  intercourse  and 
daily  life  with  our  children,  we  cast  a  searching  glance  upon  the  con- 
dition of  our  minds  and  hearts  —  we  are  dead,  our  surroundings  are 

1  Alice  Freeman  Palmer. 


GARDEN    STUDIES  131 

dead  to  us.  With  all  our  knowledge,  we  are  empty  for  our  children. 
Almost  all  we  say  is  hollow  and  empty,  without  content  and  without 
life.  Only  in  the  few  rare  cases,  when  our  speech  rests  on  inter- 
course with  life  and  nature,  do  we  rejoice  in  her  life. 

Let  us  hasten,  then!  Let  us  impart  life  to  ourselves,  to  our 
children ;  let  us  through  them  give  meaning  to  our  speech  and  life  to 
the  things  about  us !  Let  us  live  with  them,  and  let  them  live  with 
us  ;  thus  shall  we  obtain  through  them  what  we  all  need. 

Our  surroundings,  the  objects  we  see  are  lifeless ;  they  are  dead 
matter.  They  crush,  instead  of  uplift  us,  for  they  lack  the  quicken- 
ing word  that  gives  them  significance  and  meaning. 

Our  speech  is  like  the  book  out  of  which  we  have  learned  it,  at 
third  or  fourth  hand. 

Fathers,  parents,  let  us  be  up  and  doing !  what  we  lack  let  us 
provide  for  our  children.  What  we  no  longer  possess  —  the  all-quick- 
ening, creative  power  of  child-life  —  let  it  be  again  transfused  from 
their  life  into  ours.  Translated  from  FROEBEL'S  Menschen-Erzie- 
hung,  p.  55. 

In  adult  science  we  have  been  studying  dead  things  so 
long,  dissecting  and  analyzing  type-forms,  that  we  have 
well-nigh  gone  blind  to  the  living,  active  side  of  nature ; 
but  this  has  furnished  the  primitive  and  fundamental,  and 
must  furnish  the  larger  future,  interests  of  mankind  in 
nature.  So  completely  does  this  side  monopolize  our 
college  and  even  university  courses  in  biology  that  our 
teachers  know  nothing  else  to  teach.  However  much 
value  this  may  have  for  adult  thought,  when  we  attempt 
to  teach  little  children  we  must  moult  it  all,  heed  every 
suggestion  of  the  great  teacher,  and  become  as  little 
children  ourselves. 


132  NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 

In  the  general  movement  toward  active  education 
manual  training,  cooking,  and  sewing  have  made  rapid 
progress  toward  assured  positions  in  the  curriculum, 
while  the  most  wholesome  and  educative  work  of  all, 
work  in  the  fresh  air  and  sunshine,  with  the  soil  and 
growing  things,  practical  gardening,  has  lagged  behind. 
In  Europe,  according  to  Mr.  Clapp,  there  are  eighty-one 
thousand  school  gardens  from  Sweden  to  Switzerland. 
As  long  ago  as  1887  a  decree  was  passed  in  France  by 
which  no  plan  of  a  school  building  could  be  accepted 
unless  a  school  garden  was  attached.  "The  absence  of 
the  school  garden  is  the  most  radical  defect  in  our  ele- 
mentary education."  l 

The  form  a  school  garden  should  take,  the  things 
planted  in  it,  and  the  sphere  of  its  influence  in  the  educa- 
tion of  a  neighborhood  must,  of  course,  vary  with  local 
needs  and  conditions.  Where  home  gardens  are  lacking 
or  neglected,  nothing  can  so  awaken  the  children  to  the 
resources  and  possibilities  of  life  and  nature.  In  one 
case  over  80  per  cent  of  the  children  started  gardens 
of  their  own  at  home,  and  many  of  the  parents,  mostly 
foreigners,  sought  information  through  the  teachers  as 
to  where  seeds  and  garden  supplies  could  be  obtained. 

Even  where  home  gardens  are  all  that  could  be  wished 
or  desired,  the  school  garden  can  furnish  opportunities  for 
such  class  lessons  in  soils,  soil  preparation,  and  fertilization, 
methods  of  planting  seeds,  methods  of  propagating  fruit 
and  forest  trees  by  seeds,  cuttings,  buds,  grafts,  and  layers, 
as  will  be  described  under  those  topics,  —  pruning,  thinning 
fruit,  insects,  and  fungous  diseases.  A  wild-flower  garden 

1  Henry  Lincoln  Clapp,  in  Education,  May,  1901. 


GARDEN    STUDIES  133 

along  one  fence  with  a  fernery  in  a  shady  corner  will 
afford  instruction  as  to  the  whole  life  story  of  these 
plants  and  supply  nature  study  and  drawing  material, 
always  fresh  and  near  at  hand,  without  the  necessity  of 
trespassing  on  private  grounds  or  robbing  waysides. 


FIG.  55.     SCHOOL  GARDEN 
George  Putnam  School,  Roxbury,  Mass.     (Photograph  by  Henry  Lincoln  Clapp) 

I  do  not  wish  to  be  understood  as  advocating  any 
serious  encroachment  by  the  school  garden  on  the  play- 
grounds. Trees  are  not  only  ornaments  but  additions  to 
playgrounds  and  might  well  be  selected  with  some  regard 
to  instructive  and  pleasing  variety  and  especially  to  attract- 
ing birds.  A  list  that  might  meet  these  requirements 
will  differ  greatly  with  soil,  locality,  and  available  space. 


134 


NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 


The  list  that  I  would  select,  conditions  being  favorable, 
might  be  the  following,  in  order ;  that  is,  if  room  was 
sufficient  for  but  one,  take  the  first,  if  sufficient  for 
three,  the  first  three,  and  so  on. 


1.  Mulberry. 

2.  Asiatic  Wild  Apple,  Pyrus 

baccata,  with  the  Euro- 
pean Wild  Apple,  P. 
malus,  planted  beside  it 
or  grafted  to  one  of  the 
main  branches. 

3.  Hackberry. 

4.  Red  Cedar. 

5.  Black  Cherry. 

6.  One  of  the  improved  chest- 

nuts, Paragon,  Numbo,  or 
Parry's  Giant. 

7.  Hickory  Nut. 

8.  Black  Walnut. 


9.  Butternut. 

10.  An  Oak. 

11.  White  Pine. 

12.  Native  Wild  Crab  Apple. 

13.  Sassafras. 

14.  Tulip  Tree. 

15.  Sycamore. 

1 6.  Soft  Maple. 

17.  Hemlock. 

1 8.  Larch. 

19.  A  Spruce. 

20.  A  group  of  White  Birches. 

21.  Purple  Beech. 

22.  A  Locust. 

23.  Linden. 

24.  An  Ash. 


There  is  apt  to  be  so  much  monotony  in  street  and  pub- 
lic park  planting  that  the  school  garden  may  well  contain 
trees  that  are  less  commonly  seen. 

For  the  fruit  garden  we  should  have  one,  or  several, 
if  there  is  room,  of  each  of  the  standard  fruits — peach, 
pear,  plum,  apple,  quince,  grape,  cherry — the  best  for  the 
locality  ;  or  several  varieties  may  be  grafted  into  one  tree, 
for  experiments  in  cross-pollination.  A  number  of  the 
bush  fruits  —  raspberries,  blackberries,  currants,  goose- 
berries, and  strawberries  —  might  furnish  instructive 
materials,  but  it  should  be  remembered  that  they  ripen 
during  the  summer  vacation  and  hence  belong  more  prop- 
erly in  the  home  gardens. 


GARDEN    STUDIES  135 

The  school  grounds  often  afford  opportunities  for 
landscape  gardening.  Flowers  may  be  arranged  in  har- 
monious and  pleasing  combinations  of  color  and  against 
suitable  backgrounds  of  shrubbery.  The  trees  may  be 
grouped  naturally  to  form  artistic  pictures.  The  build- 
ing, if  practicable,  can  be  covered  with  woodbine  and 


FIG.  56.     PORTION  OF  SEVENTH  GRADE  GARDEN 
Upsala  Street  School,  Worcester,  Mass. 

ampelopsis,  with  wistarias  and  bignonias,  actinidias  and 
honeysuckles  interspersed,  and  with  climbing  roses  trained 
about  the  lower  windows.  Thus  the  school  may  be 
made  an  attractive  place,  supply  material  for  practical 
instruction,  and  at  the  same  time  elevate  the  taste  of 
a  community. 


136  NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 

The  A,  B,  C  of  Landscape  Gardening.  — When  we  study 
the  way  Nature  plants  her  trees  and  vines,  the  principles 
of  good  arrangement  become  simple  matters.  A.  Leave 
open  glades  for  sunshine  and  air.  B.  Plant  in  masses,  in 
natural  groups,  so  as  to  form  pleasing  pictures  for  differ- 
ent seasons  ;  and,  combining  this  principle  with  A,  leave 
open  vistas  toward  beautiful  views  and  cover  unsightly 
features  of  the  landscape.  Flower  beds  are  much  more 
effective  when  framed  in  a  suitable  background  of  foliage 
than  when  planted  in  open  spaces.  C.  Avoid  straight 
rows  wherever  possible  ;  Nature  never  plants  that  way  ; 
it  is  stiff,  monotonous,  and  tiresome. 

Study  and  discuss  with  the  class  specimens  of  good 
planting  in  the  neighborhood.  Little  trees  may  look' 
lonesome  at  fifty  feet  apart ;  but  measure  the  spread  of 
large  trees  of  different  kinds.  We  need  to  acquire  the 
power  to  look  ahead  twenty,  fifty,  a  hundred  years  when 
we  plant  trees.  Failing  to  do  this,  people  often  plant  too 
close  to  the  house,  and  the  trees  grow  up  and  bury  it 
in  shade  so  dense  as  to  invite  dampness  and  decay.  In 
consequence  they  are  obliged  to  cut  them  down  in  their 
prime.  Leave  open  vistas  toward  the  sunrise  and  sun- 
set ;  plant  a  heavy  mass  of  deciduous  trees  to  shield  the 
house  from  the  noonday  and  afternoon  sun ;  arrange  the 
evergreens  on  the  north,  where  they  may  break  the  force 
of  storms  but  not  cut  off  the  winter  sunshine.  In  groups 
the  trees  should  stand  good  hammock-distances  apart. 

The  school  garden  can  also  supply  ethical  culture  where 
it  is  most  needed.  A  small  fraction  of  the  community, 
with  uncultivated  tastes  and  with  little  regard  for  the 
rights  of  others,  may  practically  render  impossible  its  best 


GARDEN    STUDIES  137 

horticultural  development.  It  may  seem  to  some  like 
flying  in  the  face  of  Providence  to  plant  fruits  in  the 
school  garden,  but  this  is  just  the  thing  to  do.  It  is  the 
only  rational  way  of  "  taking  the  bull  by  the  horns."  One 
school,  within  my  knowledge,  in  which  this  theory  was 
given  a  trial  raised  peaches,  and  the  children  sold  them 
to  buy  books  for  the  school  library.  Not  a  peach  was 
stolen.  In  another  school  in  which  a  similar  experiment 
is  being  tried  the  juvenile  vandalism  that  made  pursuit 
of  horticulture  almost  impossible  disappeared  completely 
after  the  first  year. 

Wherever  possible,  besides  the  general  features  de- 
scribed, each  child  should  be  given  a  plot,  where  he  can 
plant  whatever  he  pleases.  This  will  serve  to  develop 
individuality,  and  the  condition  of  the  plot  will  be  the 
natural  index  of  what  a  child  knows  and  is  able  to  do 
by  himself. 

By  being  content  to  begin  in  a  moderate,  sensible  way, 
by  planting  those  things  adapted  to  local  conditions  and 
needs,  and  varieties  that  will  flower  or  fruit  either  before 
the  middle  of  June  or  after  the  first  of  September,  a  school 
garden  is  reasonably  sure  to  grow  in  favor.  And  "  the 
most  radical  defect  in  our  elementary  education  "  may  be 
soon  supplied. 


FIG.  57.    EXAMPLE  OF  TASTEFUL  PLANTING 
(By  courtesy  of  the  National  Cash  Register  Co.,  Dayton,  Ohio) 


138 


CHAPTER   IX 

NATURE-STUDY  PROPERTY  OF   CHILDREN 

FLOWERS  AND  VEGETABLES 

At  Noey's  house  when  they  arrived  with  him  — 
How  snug  seemed  everything,  and  neat  and  trim  : 

With  little  paint-keg,  vases  and  teapots 
Of  wee  moss-blossoms  and  forgetmenots  : 
And  in  the  windows,  either  side  the  door, 
Were  ranged  as  many  little  boxes  more 
Of  like  old-fashioned  larkspur,  pinks  and  moss 
And  fern  and  phlox  ;  while  up  and  down  across 
Them  rioted  the  morning-glory-vines 
On  taut-set  cotton-strings. 

JAMES  WHITCOMB  RILEY,  A  Child  World. 

IN  order  to  develop  the  educational  values  connected 
with  the  plants  children  are  trying  to  rear  at  home  we 
must  first  know  what  they  are.  For  a-  simple  language 
lesson,  ask  each  pupil  to  write  a  list  of  what  plants  he 
owns.  This  will,  of  course,  result  in  a  mass  of  unclassified 
data  that  the  teacher  must  arrange  and  tabulate  before  it 
becomes  usable.  This  entails  an  unnecessary  amount 
of  labor,  and  a  better  method  is  to  have  blanks  with  the 
names  of  the  commoner  sorts  printed  in  order  on  sheets 
of  school  writing  paper.  The  data  will  thus  be  uniformly 
arranged  by  the  children  themselves,  and  the  teacher  can 
keep  them  on  file  as  a  basis  for  assignment  of  lessons  on 

139 


140  NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 

any  plants  that  it  may  be  desirable  to  study.  Each  group 
of  teachers,  of  course,  will  have  to  decide  on  the  exact 
list  of  plants  best  suited  to  the  locality.  Three  of  these 
blanks  will  probably  be  found  useful,  one  for  flowers  and 
ornamental  plants,  one  for  the  vegetable  garden,  and  one 
for  fruits ;  but  by  including  fewer  varieties  these  may  be 
all  printed  on  a  single  blank.  However,  in  the  present 
low  condition  of  our  horticultural  life,  the  printing  of  as 
many  names  of  plants  as  possible  may  serve  as  a  most 
valuable  means  of  calling  the  attention  of  the  children  to 
desirable  varieties  to  plant. 

In  graded  schools  these  blanks  might  be  passed  along 
to  the  teacher  in  the  next  higher  grade  as  the  children  are 
promoted.  (See  next  page.) 

The  object  of  the  lessons  should  be  simply  the  culture 
of  flowers  with  reference  to  the  highest  enjoyment  of  them. 
With  blanks  properly  filled  out  the  teacher  has  in  hand 
the  resources  of  the  class  for  future  lessons.  Plan  with 
reference  to  seasons  of  blooming  and  planting,  begin  with 
such  as  the  greatest  number  of  children  have,  invite  them 
to  bring  in  of  each  kind  enough,  if  practicable,  to  supply 
the  class  and  teacher  with  specimens,  including  buds, 
open  blossoms,  and  seeds.  Some  of  these  may  be  kept 
in  the  school  collection.  Then  let  the  children  recite  on 
methods  of  culture,  compare  notes  as  to  best  methods, 
appealing  to  quality  of  the  specimens  in  hand,  discuss  form 
and  colors,  enjoy  together  the  fragrance,  and  call  out  any- 
thing that  the  children  have  noted  as  to  the  insects  or  hum- 
ming birds  that  visit  the  flower.  Finally,  question  the  class 
about  the  insect  enemies  that  make  culture  of  the  plant 
difficult,  and  the  fungi,  blights,  and  mildews  that  attack  it. 


NATURE-STUDY    PROPERTY 


141 


NATURE-STUDY  PROPERTY  —  FLOWERS 


School.... 
Name 


Grade Date 

Age 

Home  rented  or  owned..... 


of  each 


NOTE.  —  Without  rewriting  the  names,  each  pupil  will  indicate  the  number  and  variety 
ach,  if  known,  and  if  unknown  indicate  this  by  a  (?). 


FLOWER 

Roses  .  .  . 
Lilies  .  .  . 
Violets  .  .  . 
Nasturtiums  . 
Sweet  Peas  .  . 
Mignonette .  . 
Crocus  .  .  . 
Iris  .... 
Hollyhocks .  . 
Honeysuckles  . 
Clematis 
Moonflowers  . 
Cypress  Vine  . 
Morning-Glories 
Mimosas 
Forget-me-nots 
Sunflowers  . 
Chrysanthemums 
Geraniums  . 
Petunias  .  . 
Verbenas  .  . 
Pinks  .  .  . 
Primroses  .  . 
Pansies  .  .  . 
Poppies  .  .  . 
Passion  Flowers 
Mallows  .  .  . 
Peonies  .  .  . 
Hawthorns  .  . 
Lilacs  .  .  . 
Phlox  .  .  . 
Portulacas  .  . 
Marigolds  .  . 
Dahlias  .  .  . 
Asters  .  .  . 
Cannas  .  .  . 
Zinnias  .  .  . 
Other  kinds 


HOW    OBTAINED 


BY    WHOM    CARED    FOR 


142  NATURE  -STUDY    AND    LIFE 

The  best  text-book  for  this  work  is  any  first-rate  floral 
catalogue,  and  the  best  book  for  reference,  which  should 
be  supplied  as  a  desk  book  to  the  teacher,  is  the  book  on 
horticulture  and  landscape  gardening  that  best  applies  to 
the  region  as  to  climate  and  local  conditions. 

Must  the  teachers,  then,  learn  all  this  and  tell  it  to 
the  children  ?  Far  from  it.  They  need  only  the  sincere 
love  of  flowers  and  the  first  rudiments  of  their  culture ; 
and  then  to  have  judgment  enough  not  to  try  to  tell 
the  children  even  half  they  know.  The  very  breath  of 
life  for  a  healthy,  vigorous  child  is  original  investigation ; 
and  to  stuff  the  memory  faster  than  the  power  to  think 
and  the  will  to  do  are  developed,  is  the  quickest  road  to 
mental  indolence.  "  Yes,  but  they  will  ask  all  sorts  of 
questions,"  says  the  timid  teacher  who  is  afraid  to  say 
"  I  don't  know."  Well,  then,  questions  are  the  best 
things  in  the  world  to  play  ball  with.  They  are  too  good 
to  break  by  answering.  Toss  them  back  to  the  class. 

"Alice  asks  how  deep  to  plant  her  tulip  bulbs.  How  many 
know?"  A  dozen  hands  go  up.  "John,  will  you  tell  us  how  deep 
to  plant  tulips?  "  John:  "  About  a  foot  deep."  More  hands  go  up. 
"No !  no  !  no  !  "  the  children  are  saying  to  themselves,  and  John  gets 
red  in  the  face.  "  How  do  you  know  tulips  should  be  planted  a  foot 
deep,  John?  Did  you  ever  plant  any?"  "No,  ma'am."  "Well, 
then,  you  don't  know  but  only  guessed  about  it,  John ;  is  that  true  ?  " 
"  Yes,  ma'am."  "  Well,  perhaps  we  had  better  not  waste  any  more 
time  guessing.  How  many  raised  tulips  last  year?"  Hands  again 
go  up.  "  Mary,  will  you  please  tell  us  how  deep  you  planted  yours  ?  " 
"  I  planted  my  tulips  six  inches  deep."  "  Did  they  grow  well  ?  " 
"  Yes,  they  all  came  up  the  next  spring,  and  every  one  blossomed." 
"  How  many  agree  that  six  inches  deep  is  about  right  to  plant  tulips  ? 
Well,  every  one  seems  to  think  you  are  right.  Mary,  how  did  you 
find  out  ?  "  "I  saw  Mrs.  Johnson  planting  some  one  day  and  watched 


NATURE-STUDY    PROPERTY  143 

her  do  it,  and  she  said  that  they  must  be  planted  six  inches  deep. 
Her  tulips  always  grew  so  well  I  thought  she  must  know.  Then  I 
read  it  again  in  a  flower  catalogue,  and  I  have  tried  it  myself." 

So  every  question  is  a  prize,  a  living,  bursting  bud ; 
be  careful  of  it.  Make  the  most  and  best  of  it.  If  the 
children  are  really  doing  something,  there  will  be  no  end 
of  questions  with  real  purpose  in  them,  and  the  nature- 
study  period  will  be  the  liveliest,  most  quick-witted  and 
mutually  helpful,  and  the  happiest  lesson  of  the  day.  If 
they  are  not  actively  doing  something  with  nature  at  first 
hand,  as  Froebel  says,  all  will  be  dull,  empty,  lazy,  dead, 
and  no  teacher  can  lift  the  load. 

Do  not  harshly  repel  him  ;  show  no  impatience  about  his  ever- 
recurring  questions.  Every  harshly  repelling  word  crushes  a  bud  or 
shoot  of  his  tree  of  life.  Do  not,  however,  tell  him  in  words  much 
more  than  he  could  find  out  himself  without  your  words.  For  it  is, 
of  course,  easier  to  hear  the  answer  from  another,  perhaps  to  only 
half  hear  and  understand  it,  than  it  is  to  seek  and  discover  it  himself. 
To  have  found  out  one  fourth  of  the  answer  by  his  own  effort  is  of 
more  value  and  importance  to  the  child  than  it  is  to  half  hear  and 
half  understand  it  in  the  words  of  another ;  for  this  causes  mental 
indolence.  Do  not,  therefore,  always  answer  your  children's  ques- 
tions at  once  and  directly  ;  but  as  soon  as  they  have  gathered  sufficient 
strength  and  experience,  furnish  them  with  the  means  to  find  the 
answers  in  the  sphere  of  their  own  knowledge.  FROEBEL,  Education 
of  Man,  p.  86. 

But  suppose,  as  often  will  occur,  the  question  is  one 
that  no  one  knows  anything  about.  If  reasonably  within 
their  "sphere  of  knowledge,"  call  for  volunteers.  Who 
will  try  to  find  this  out  and  tell  us  about  it  ?  ^The  thing 
we  need  to  develop  most  in  our  public  education  is  indi- 
vidual initiative,  power  to  think  and  do  —  resource\\i 


144  NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFK 

the  question  is  too  hard  to  answer  in  a  day  or  a  week  or 
a  year,  so  much  the  better.  If  it  be  one  worth  while 
to  work  at  for  a  lifetime,  so  much  the  better.  You  may 
have  given  a  life  work,  the  highest  prize  a  teacher  can 
ever  give  a  pupil.  It  may  make  the  difference  between 
a  life  worth  living  and  not  worth  living.1 

A  blank  for  the  vegetable  garden  similar  to  that  for 
flowers  may  be  prepared  about  as  on  the  opposite  page. 


„ 


1  Blessed  is  he  who  has  found  his  work  ;  let  him  ask  no  other  blessed- 
s.  He  has  a  work,  a  life-purpose ;  he  has  found  it,  and  will  follow  it  ! 
How,  as  a  free-flowing  channel,  dug  and  torn  by  noble  force  through  the 
sour  mud-swamp  of  one's  existence,  like  an  ever  deepening  river  there, 
it  runs  and  flows  ;  —  draining  off  the  sour  festering  water,  gradually  from 
the  remotest  root  of  the  remotest  grass-blade  ;  making,  instead  of  a  pesti- 
lential swamp,  a  green  fruitful  meadow  with  its  clear-flowing  stream.  How 
blessed  for  the  meadow  itself,  let  the  stream  and  its  value  be  great  or  small ! 
Labour  is  Life.  From  the  inmost  heart  of  the  Worker  rises  his  God-given 
Force,  the  sacred  celestial  Life-essence  breathed  into  him  by  Almighty 
God;  from  his  inmost  heart  awakens  him  to  all  nobleness  —  to  all  knowl- 
edge, "self-knowledge"  and  much  else,  so  soon  as  Work-  fitly  begins. 
Knowledge  ?  The  knowledge  that  will  hold  good  in  working,  cleave  thou 
to  that.  Properly  thou  hast  no  other  knowledge  but  what  thou  has  got  by 
working :  the  rest  is  yet  all  a  hypothesis  of  knowledge :  a  thing  to  be  argued 
in  schools,  a  thing  floating  in  the  clouds,  in  endless  logic-vortices,  till  we 
try  it  and  fix  it.  "  Doubt,  of  whatever  kind,  can  be  ended  by  actions  alone.'' 


Work  is  of  a  religious  nature:  —  work  is  of  a  brave  .  .  .  nature;  which 
is  the  aim  of  all  religion  to  be.  All  work  of  man  is  as  the  swimmer's ;  a 
waste  of  ocean  threatens  to  devour  him ;  if  he  front  it  not  bravely  it  will 
keep  its  word.  By  incessant  wise  defiance  of  it,  lusty  rebuke  and  buffet  of 
it,  behold  how  it  loyally  supports  him,  bears  him  as  a  conqueror  along. 
"It  is  so,"  says  Goethe,  "with  all  things  that  man  undertakes  in  this 
world."  CARLYLE,  Past  and  Present,  p.  190. 


NATURE-STUDY    PROPERTY 


NATURE-STUDY  PROPERTY  —  VEGETABLE  GARDEN 

School. Grade Date 

Name Age 

Home  rented  or  owned. 

NOTE.  —  Without   rewriting  the  names,  the  pupil  will  please   indicate 
the  quantity,  amount  and  variety,  if  known,  of  each.1 


NAME  OF  PLANT 


Artichokes  . 
Asparagus  . 
Chives  .  . 
Cabbage .  . 
Cauliflower  . 
Celery  .  . 
Cress  .  .  . 
Cucumbers  . 
Eggplant 
Lettuce  .  . 
Mushrooms 
Melons  .  . 
Onions  . 
Parsley  .  . 
Radishes 
Squashes 
Tomatoes  . 
Sage  .  .  . 
Anise .  .  . 
Rhubarb  . 
Other  Plants 


How  is  SEED  OR 
STOCK  OBTAINED? 


BV    WHOM    CARED    FOR! 


1  It  may  be  objected  that  I  have  left  a  number  of  the  commoner  sorts  out,  notably 
beans.  Of  course,  in  preparation  of  these  blanks  for  use,  each  group  of  teachers  must  again 
decide  for  themselves,  according  to  local  interests  and  conditions.  The  greatest  danger 
in  the  lessons  will  be  the  cut-and-dried,  "  systematic "  inclusion  of  things  too  commonly 
known  to  be  anything  but  dull  and  unprofitable.  And  where  garden  work  is  all  that  it  should 
be  in  a  neighborhood,  where  the  children  are  carrying  it  along  with  success  and  enthusiasm, 
most  of  it  may  safely  be  left  in  charge  of  the  children  and  the  home. 

New  and  choice  varieties  of  common  vegetables  may  be  brought  to  attention  of  the 
school,  and  knowledge  about  them  thus  be  disseminated  through  the  neighborhood.  Insect 
enemies  and  fungous  diseases  of  even  the  commonest  things  will  also  furnish  m?ny  valuable 
lessons. 


FIG.  58.    A  PARADISE  FOR  CHILDREN 


146 


CHAPTER    X 

NATURE-STUDY   PROPERTY  (Continued) 

GARDEN  FRUITS 

WE  must  have  recourse  to  our  blanks  again  in  order  to 
find  out  what  the  children  have  for  this  most  fascinating 

o 

field  of  study  and  work.     The  fruit-blank  may  be  arranged 
somewhat  as  indicated  on  the  following  page. 

With  either  the  rich  or  the  poor,  every  fact  learned 
about  fruits,  their  qualities  and  culture,  may  be  of  life- 
long value.  To  know  how  to  grow  any  fruit  to  highest 
perfection  opens  up  a  noble  and  useful  life  work.  Improve- 
ment of  varieties  by  judicious  cross-pollination  is  a  bound- 
less field  for  intelligent  experiment  and  patient  work;  and 
a  gain  of  even  a  small  margin  in  quality,  color,  flavor,  and 
size  of  any  standard  fruit  is  a  service  to  mankind  that 
cannot  be  calculated  in  money.  This  work  represents 
one  of  the  most  ancient  and  noble  struggles  of  man  to 
regain  paradise,  and  it  will  go  on  as  long  as  human  life 
exists  upon  the  earth.  No  sooner  has  a  "best"  variety 
been  produced  than  by  judicious  breeding  a  better  may 
be  obtained.  Until  recently  this  progress  has  depended 
mainly  upon  accidental  seeds.  A  seed  gains  a  foothold 
and  some  wise,  thoughtful  man  notices  that  it  produces 
fruit  better  than  its  kind.  He  cares  for  it,  and  within 
a  few  years  every  garden  in  the  land  or  zone  may  be 
reaping  the  benefit  of  his  work. 

147 


148 


NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 


NATURE-STUDY  PROPERTY  —  FRUITS 

School. Grade Date 

Name Age 

Home  rented  or  owned1 

NOTE.  —  State  after  each  the  number  you  own  and  variety,  if  known. 


FRUITS 

BY  WHOM    PLANTED 

CARE  GIVEN  YEARLY 

CROP  PRODUCED 

Apples       .     .     . 
Apricots    . 
Blackberries  .     . 

Cherries    . 

Currants   .     .     . 

Gooseberries 

Grapes       .     .     . 
Mulberries     .     . 

Nectarines     .     . 

Peaches     .     .     . 

Pears    .... 

Plums  .... 

Quinces    .     .     . 
Raspberries   .     . 
Strawberries  .     . 

Fruit  culture,  furthermore,  forms  the  natural  center 
for  interests  in  many  other  things.  Innumerable  insect 
friends  and  foes  await  acquaintance,  whose  common  names 
refer  to  the  trees  about  which  they  may  be  found  :  the 

1  In  these  different  blanks  I  have  placed  the  question  "  Home  rented 
or  owned  "  for  several  reasons.  To  some  this,  at  first  sight,  seems  need- 
lessly prying  into  home  matters.  But  no  general  publicity  need  be  given 
to  the  answers,  and  the  data  secured  will  be  of  great  sociological  value 
and  will  assist  the  teacher  in  advising  the  child  with  reference  to  what 
to  plant.  It  may,  of  course,  be  omitted  if  desired. 


NATURE-STUDY    PROPERTY  149 

apple  worm,  apple  maggot,  apple  and  plum  curculios, 
apple-,  peach-,  and  cherry-tree  borers,  grape  sphinx  moth, 
grape  berry  moth,  and  so  on  through  a  long  list.  If  the 
children  have  trees  and  vines,  there  will  be  no  lack  of 
interest  and  materials  for  insect  studies.  From  this  they 
will  also  gain  a  practical  insight  into  the  work  of  birds 
and  other  insectivorous  animals,  and  appreciate  the  need 
of  protecting  them  and  attracting  them  to  their  homes; 
and  they  will  be  glad  to  study  the  work  of  bees  in  carry- 
ing pollen  from  flower  to  flower.  Finally,  they  will  at 
least  be  awakened  to  see  the  value  of  knowledge  about 
the  blights  and  mildews  and  other  fungi  that  now  make 
fruit  culture  so  difficult. 

Wherever  I  go  I  find  common  knowledge  of  the  best 
varieties  of  fruits  falling  out  of  the  public  mind.  It  is 
certainly  little  enough  to  ask  of  nature  study  that  it  keep 
alive  this  ancient  and  beneficent  tree  of  knowledge,  root, 
trunk,  and  branch. 

To  begin  with,  set  a  series  of  composition  lessons  upon 
each  of  the  more  important  of  the  fruits  commonly  raised 
in  the  vicinity,  asking  the  pupils  to  name  all  the  varieties 
they  know.  Let  them  describe  each  as  to  vigor  of  growth, 
color,  size,  shape,  flavor,  fragrance,  quality,  origin,  uses. 
This  will  open  the  eyes  of  both  teachers  and  pupils  to  how 
little  is  commonly  known  of  such  matters. 

In  proper  season  the  liveliest  lessons  may  be  arranged 
by  asking  the  class  to  bring  in  specimens  of  all  the 
varieties  of  a  certain  fruit  they  have.  Let  the  children 
smell,  taste,  and  handle  them,  and  discuss  which  is  the 
best  kind  for  different  purposes.  Make  a  practical  fruit 
show  of  it,  a  game  of  "  bests,"  to  learn  not  only  the  best 


150  NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 

variety,   but   also  who   can   raise   the   best   specimens   of 
a  variety.      H'bw  did  he  succeed  in  doing  it  ? 

In  connection  with  these  exhibitions  and  lessons  the 
teacher  should  have  on  his  desk  the  latest  revised  Cata- 
logue of  Fruits.1  He  should  not  allow  the  pupils  to  see 
it  until  they  have  guessed  which  is  the  best  fruit  of  the 
kind  they  have  before  them  —  apple,  pear,  peach,  plum, 
grape,  etc.  —  known  in  the  world. 

This  Catalogue  of  Fruits  represents  the  combined  efforts  and 
the  best  judgment  of  the  members  of  the  American  Pomological 
Society,  the  men,  living  in  every  part  of  the  country,  who  are  best 
skilled  and  most  deeply  interested  in  advancement  of  American  fruit 
culture.  It  is  arranged  so  that  he  who  runs  may  read.  It  con- 
tains a  -map  with  all  the  various  fruit  belts  or  districts  clearly  indi- 
cated and  numbered,  and  then  follow  tables  that  give  more  modern 
information  on  American  fruits  than  could  be  found  in  all  the 
horticultural  libraries. 

From  these  tables  we  are  able  to  read  at  a  glance  a 
description  of  each  fruit,  under  its  accepted  name,  giving 
its  size,  form,  color,  flavor,  quality  (marked  on  a  scale  of 
10  for  best),  season,  use,  origin,  and  the  region  where  it 
grows  to  greatest  perfection.  It  is  an  interesting  exer- 
cise simply  to  read  the  names  of  these  fruits  over  to  a 
class  in  order  to  realize  how  few  we  know  practically  and 
how  little  people  in  general  know  about  them.  It  is  not 
to  be  expected  that  every  one  will  agree  with  all  the  esti- 
mates given  by  the  American  Pomological  Society,  but 

^Revised  Catalogue  of  Fruits  recommended  for  Cultivation  in  the  Vari- 
ous Sections  of  the  United  States  and  the  British  Provinces,  United  States 
Department  of  Agriculture,  Washington,  D.C.,  1899.  Every  teacher  should 
be  furnished  this  or  should  get  it  by  ordering  it,  with  five  cents  inclosed, 
from  Superintendent  of  Documents,  Union  Building,  Washington,  D.C. 


NATURE-STUDY    PROPERTY  151 

differences  of  opinion  are  valuable  to  set  people  to  inves- 
tigating and  exercising  their  judicial  powers. 

I  will  give  for  some  of  the  standard  fruits  only  those 
that  are  scaled  10  for  quality,  i.e.,  the  very  best  known 
and  of  such  preeminent  excellence  as  to  deserve  the  mark, 
with  a  few  others  for  comparison.  (See  next  page.) 

While  it  may  not  seem  worth  while  to  a  child  to  try  to 
rear  a  peach  tree,  grapevine,  or  other  fruit,  knowing  as 
little  as  he  does  about  them,  give  him  the  idea  that  this  is 
the  best  thing  of  its  kind  in  the  world,  and  await  the  result. 

In  case  the  children  have  no  fruit  trees  of  their  own, 
which,  I  regret  to  say,  will  generally  be  the  case,  it  may 
take  two  or  three  years  to  get  this  work  well  under  way.1 
But  the  school  may  be  a  great  means  of  inducing  children 
to  get  things  of  their  own,  of  helping  them  to  secure  the 
varieties  they  wish,  and  it  may  furnish  the  natural  chan- 
nels through  which  scions,  cuttings,  buds,  seeds,  and 
plants  may  be  distributed  and  exchanged  throughout  the 
neighborhood.  Horticultural  exhibits  and  fairs  may  be 
utilized  for  studying  varieties  to  excellent  advantage. 

Next  to  study  of  varieties  of  fruits  comes  naturally 
the  knowledge  of  best  soil,  treatment,  care,  food  supply, 

1  Every  home  garden  is,  of  course,  a  garden  of  "bests"  in  accordance 
with  its  owner's  knowledge  and  tastes.  Too  often,  however,  it  is  filled 
with  such  comparatively  worthless  things  as  to  awaken  no  interest  on  the 
part  of  children  and  to  give  the  impression  that  they  are  not  worth  taking 
care  of.  But  in  every  neighborhood  some  one  may  be  found  who  knows 
something  about  these  things  and  has  the  best  garden  and  orchard  of  the 
vicinity  in  at  least  certain  features.  Get  his  permission  to  take  the  class, 
giving  all  assurance  that  nothing  shall  be  stepped  on  or  injured,  to  his 
garden  when  various  fruits  are  in  their  prime,  or  when  instructive  work  is 
going  on,  —  pruning,  fertilizing,  grafting,  budding,  etc.  I  can  see  you 
smile  at  this,  but  try  it. 


152 


NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 


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NATURE-STUDY    PROPERTY  153 

and  methods  of  culture  for  each.  Many  points  of  interest 
in  all  these  connections  will  come  up  during  the  fruit  shows, 
and  while  the  specimens  are  being  compared  it  is  just  the 
time  to  ask  :  How  did  you  do  it  ?  Did  you  thin  the  fruit  ? 
How  did  you  prune  the  tree  ?  How  did  you  keep  the 
insects  off?  What  do  you  feed  your  trees?  and  so  on. 
Of  course  most  of  these  topics  are  matters  for  lifelong 
study,  and  though  it  may  not  be  possible  to  do  as  much 
with  them  as  you  wish,  are  they  not  better  on  this 
account  ? 


154 


CHAPTER    XI 

PROPAGATION   OF   PLANTS 

SEEDS,   LAYERS,   CUTTINGS,  GRAFTING,  AND  BUDDING; 
TRANSPLANTING 

The  Seeds.  —  First  have  each  member  of  the  class  make 
a  neat  collection  of  the  seeds  of  all  the  fruits  —  crab 
apple,  apple,  pear,  peach,  plum,  strawberry,  etc.  —  given 
in  the  preceding  list,  or  of  as  many  as  possible.  A  lesson 
or  two  may  be  devoted  to  mounting  these  neatly  in  vials 
or  on  cards.  Label  them  in  such  wise  that  they  may  be 
used  for  tests  to  see  whether  the  children  can  distinguish 
the  different  seeds  at  sight. 

We  may  next  ask  each  of  the  children  to  bring  in  a 
number  of  fruit  seeds  for  observations  and  experiments  in 
germination.  Certain  seeds  are  naturally  better  adapted 
to  these  studies  than  others.  Still,  any  which  have  local 
importance  may  be  used ;  and  so  few  children  have  ever 
seen  the  germination  of  some  of  the  smaller  seeds  —  straw- 
berry, raspberry,  grape,  etc.  —  that  these  may  prove  the 
most  instructive  of  all,  especially  in  sections  where  their 
culture  is  a  prominent  industry.  If  time  allows  the  use  of 
not  more  than  one  seed  for  these  studies,  the  peach  will 
probably  be  the  best  in  all  sections  where  its  culture  is 
possible ;  but  with  just  this  seed  the  greatest  care  must 
be  taken  to  be  sure  that  it  is  from  vigorous  stock  and  not 


156  NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 

contaminated  by  the  disease  "  peach  yellows,"  that  has 
desolated  the  orchards  in  so  many  sections  of  this  country. 
So  serious  is  this  danger  said  to  be,  since  peaches  are 
shipped  from  diseased  orchards  to  all  parts  of  the  country, 
and  " yellows"  peaches  are  not  infrequently  seen  even  in 
horticultural  fairs,  that  it  will  be  much  safer  to  purchase 
the  peach  seeds  from  reliable  nurserymen  or  from  the 
State  Experiment  Station.  The  peach  is  placed  first  on 
account  of  its  large  seed,  its  beautiful  and  rapid  growth, 
the  short  time  before  it  comes  into  bearing,  and  the 
need  of  stimulating  and  popularizing  culture  of  this 
valuable  fruit. 

The  object  of  this  work  in  germination  is  to  raise  plants 
that  may  be  used  for  lessons  in  budding  and  grafting  and 
for  distribution  throughout  the  neighborhood,  and  its  needs 
and  possibilities  must  naturally  determine  the  number  of 
seeds  planted.  A  secondary  purpose  is  to  give  each  child 
a  chance  to  see  one  of  these  plants  start  out  in  life,  and, 
even  if  the  district  be  fully  stocked,  to  have  a  single  pot 
of  fruit-tree  seedlings  in  a  schoolroom  will  serve  to  keep 
this  lore  alive  in  the  hearts  of  the  children  and  prove  a 
most  suggestive  bit  of  nature-study  equipment. 

The  first  general  topic  is  naturally  methods  of  saving  and 
germinating  the  different  seeds.  This  may  be  most  con- 
veniently stated  in  the  form  of  a  table.  (See  next  page.) 

The  chief  lesson  to  be  learned  from  seed  propagation  is 
that  new  varieties  of  fruits  are  secured  in  this  way.  The 
seed  of  a  Baldwin  apple,  for  example,  will  not  produce  a 
Baldwin.  It  may  be  a  better  apple,  but  the  chances  are 
thousands  to  one  that  it  will  not  be  as  good.  The  original 
apple,  Pyrus  mains,  from  which  our  cultivated  varieties  are 


PROPAGATION    OF    PLANTS 


57 


derived,  is  a  little  fruit  less  than  an  inch  in  diameter,  now 
growing  wild  over  southern  and  central  Europe,  mixed 
with  cultivated  apples.  Its  earliest  home  was  probably 
the  region  south  of  the  Caucasus  along  the  Black  and 
Caspian  seas.  Small  forests  of  these  trees  still  occur  in 
that  country.  These  apples  were  known  and  used  and 
probably  cultivated  long  before  authentic  history  began. 
They  were  dried  for  winter  by  the  Swiss  lake-dwellers, 


VARIETY 

METHOD  OF  SAVING  SEED 

METHOD  AND  SEASON  OF 
PLANTING 

( 

Remove  from   fruit 

Without    allowing  to 

Apple,      Apricot, 
Cherry,      Nectarine, 
Peach,    Pear,    Plum, 

and,  if  necessary  to  keep 
over  winter,  mix  with  dry 
sand  and  store  in  a  cool 

dry,  plant  from  one   to 
two    inches   deep    in 
deeply  spaded  seed  bed, 

cellar.     Or  put  under  a 

well  drained  so  that  water 

Quince. 

flat  stone  out  of  doors 

will   not   stand   over  it 

I 

and  leave  over  winter. 

during  the  fall  or  winter. 

Blackberries,  Grapes,  f 

Wash  clean  from  pulp, 

Plant   when   ripe,   or 

Currants,  Gooseber-  1 

partially  dry,  and,  if  de- 

the following  spring,  in 

ries,   Mulberries,*! 

sired,   store   in    a    cool 

fine     loam     from     one- 

Raspberries,    Straw- 

place until  the  following 

fourth   to  one-half  inch 

berries. 

spring. 

deep. 

and  it  has  been  shown  that  they  knew  two  varieties  of 
apple  back  in  the  stone  age,  before  they  had  discovered 
any  metals.  Fig.  60  shows  in  outline  one  of  the  latest 
achievements,  the  Bismarck  apple,  originated  in  New  Zea- 
land, and  the  little  wild  apples  of  thousands  of  years  ago. 
This  gain  has  all  been  made  by  planting  apple  seeds 
and  taking  good  care  of  the  trees.  And  of  those  who  have 
the  patience  and  perseverance  to  plant  the  necessary  thou- 
sands of  seeds, — for  they  tend  so  strongly  to  fall  back  to  the 
little  wild  apple  from  which  they  sprang,  —  and  to  care  for 


158 


NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 


them  until  they  bear  fruit,  the  one  who  finally  discovers  an 
apple  better  in  some  respect  than  all  the  rest,  has  become 
a  benefactor  of  mankind ;  for  from  the  billions  on  billions 
of  apple  seeds  that  have  been  ripening  for  thousands  of 
years  we  have  only  299  kinds,  some  poor,  some  fair,  some 
good  —  a  few  very  good  —  only  two  best.  We  cannot  see 

deep  enough  into  the 
heart  of  nature  to 
know  just  what  benign 
influences  joined  hands 
to  produce  these 
"bests."  But  two 
apple  blossoms  on 
two  different  trees 
must  have  set  out  to 
make  the  best  seeds 
in  all  the  world  ;  the 
rains  and  the  dews 
FIG.  60.  BISMARCK  APPLE  and  the  winds  were 


a,  the  wild  Asiatic  crab  apple,  Pyrus  baccata 

b,  P.  mains,  the  wild  apple  of  Europe. 

(All  ^  natural  size) 


just  right  that  year, 
the  soil  was  good, 
a  bee  carried  pollen 
from  one  blossom  to  the  other,  and  a  bird  guarded  the 
fruit  from  devouring  insects,  and  finally  some  child,— 
who  knows  ?  —  ate  the  apple  and  planted  the  seed  in  good 
soil. 

Taking  the  hint  from  nature's  ways,  men  have  at  last 
begun  to  make  careful  experiments  in  "  plant  breeding." 
Read  or  tell  to  the  children  the  stories  of  John  Chapman, 
better  known  as  "Johnny  Appleseed,"  who  supplied  the 
early  settlers  in  Indiana  and  Ohio  with  apple  seeds  and 


PROPAGATION    OF    PLANTS  159 

apple  trees  ;  of  Ephraim  Bull,  of  Concord,  who  originated 
the  Concord  grape ;  and  of  Luther  Burbank,  "  the  wizard 
of  plants,"  who  has  given  to  every  garden  in  the  land 
some  of  its  choicest  varieties  of  fruit.1 

The  theory  and  method  of  procedure  are  comparatively 
simple.  Select  the  two  plants,  trees  or  flowers,  that  you 
wish  to  breed.  Be  sure  they  are  healthy,  vigorous,  and 
grown  to  the  highest  perfection  possible.  In  general,  it 
is  best  to  have  the  female  of  a  kind  preeminent  for  robust 
growth,  while  the  male  possesses  the  color,  fragrance,  or 
flavor  that  you  wish  to  perfect.  Next  choose  a  well-placed 
bud,  or  cluster  of  buds,  about  equally  advanced  on  both 
plants.  Before  they  open,  carefully  tie  a  paper  bag  over 
the  buds  from  which  you  intend  to  take  the  pollen. 
From  the  female  flowers,  also  before  they  open,  remove 
all  the  stamens,  and  in  like  manner  cover  them  with  a 
paper  bag.  When  the  anthers  of  the  male  flower  open, 
indicating  that  their  pollen  is  ripe,  remove  the  pollen 
with  a  clean  soft  brush  and  dust  it  thoroughly  over  the 
stigma  of  the  other  flower.  Replace  the  paper  bag  over 
the  female  flower.  Let  it  remain  covered  until  the  seeds 
begin  to  grow,  when  the  bag  should  be  taken  off.  Then 
make  a  careful  note  of  exactly  what  you  have  done,  giv- 
ing the  varieties  used,  which  one  was  taken  for  pollen  and 
which  for  stigma,  and  the  date  and  methods  of  culture  given 

1  For  "  Johnny  Appleseed,"  see  Ohio  Archceological  and  Historical 
Quarterly,  January,  1901,  p.  303. 

For  references  to  Mr.  Bull,  see  Massachusetts  Agricultural  Iteports, 
1850-1860;  also  article  on  "Progress  of  Plant  Breeding  in  the  United 
States,"  Yearbook,  Department  of  Agriculture,  1899. 

For  a  recent  note  on  Luther  Burbank  and  his  work,  see  American 
Gardening,  vol.  xxi,  p.  35,  1900. 


i6o 


NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 


to  the  plants.  The  best  of  memories  are  apt  to  play  all 
sorts  of  pranks,  and  this  is  only  a  safe  and  easy  precau- 
tion. Label  the  flower,  so  that  there  can  be  no  possibility 
of  mistake.  When  the  seeds  are  ripe,  plant  them  care- 
fully in  soil  that  has  been  thoroughly  baked,  or  that  you 
are  sure  does  not  contain  a  single  seed  of  the  kind  you 
are  to  plant  in  it.  With  such  seeds  the  chances  are 
greater  that  you  may  rear  a  flower 
or  fruit  that  combines  the  qualities 
of  both  parents  and  is  possibly  the 
finest  of  its  kind  in 
the  world. 


Layers,  Run- 
ners,   Cuttings, 
Grafts,   and   Buds. —  I   have 
just  stopped  writing  to  go 
down  into  the  garden  to  count  the 
buds   on   this  year's   shoot   of   my 
little  Esopus  tree.     There  are   57, 
and  this  whole  shoot  was  a  single 
bud  last  spring.     On  a  similar  shoot 
FIG.  61.    CHERRY  TWIGS      of  Burbank  plum  there  were  173,  on 
A  growth  shoot  and  fruit  spurs.  a  Royal   George   peach,  240,  on  a 

/   *,  S,  4,  5,  yearly  growth     Nj  A  bud     Q          ^ 

rings  ;     /,    terminal    buds  ; 

/,/,  lateral  or  leaf  buds.   A   a  fruit  bud,  is  in  possibility  a  tree 

pointed  leaf   bud   may    be       f    jt       kjnd>        The    budg    Qn    . 


seen  in  the  center  of  each 

cluster  of  fruit  buds          produce  shoots  or  trees  that  vary 
little  if  at  all  from  one  another  ;  so, 

in  order  to  multiply  a  desirable  variety,  we  have  only  to 
place  its  buds  where  they  may  grow. 


PROPAGATION    OF    PLANTS  l6l 

If  a  bud  produce  fifty  buds  a  year,  and  each  of  these  produce  fifty 
buds,  and  so  on,  how  many  buds  will  there  be  at  the  end  of  the  fifth 
year?  Ans.  312,500,000. 

Last  spring  I  was  glad  to  pay  a  dollar  for  a  young  Campbell's 
Early  grapevine.  Now  the  vine  has  thirty-eight  buds  on  it  and  has 
produced  a  second  vine  from  a  layer  that  I  bent  down  and  covered 
with  earth  early  in  the  summer.  The  grape  is  said  to  be  as  much 
better  than  the  Concord  as  the  Concord  is  better  than  the  wild  grape. 
If  this  be  true,  its  originator  is  welcome  to  the  dollar,  and  I  hope  he 
may  be  a  multi-millionaire  by  this  time,  as  he  deserves  to  be. 

Let  the  children  each  bring  in  branches  of  some  kind 
of  tree,  preferably  a  fruit  tree,  and  help  them  to  study 
the  annual  growths  that  it  may  show.  Study  with  them 
the  two  kinds  of  twigs  (growth  twigs  and  fruit  spurs) 
and  the  different  kinds  of  buds  (leaf  buds  and  fruit  buds). 
We  shall  need  to  have  clear  ideas  of  these  when  we  study 
how  to  bud  and  graft,  make  cuttings  and  layers,  and 
prune  and  feed  our  trees. 

Yearly  growths  are  distinguished  by  roughened  lines 
around  the  branch  at  the  position  of  each  successive  ter- 
minal bud.  Beginning  with  the  present  year's  growth, 
these  may  be  counted  back  for  four,  five,  and  sometimes 
many  more  years.  In  seasons  where  a  wet,  warm  autumn 
follows  a  drought  in  summer  there  are  sometimes  two 
distinct  periods  of  growth  with  all  the  appearance  of  the 
annual  markings  between  them. 

With  the  buds  distinguish  the  large  terminal  bud,  which 
is  to  continue  the  growth  of  the  shoot ;  the  side,  or  lateral, 
buds,  that  are  destined  to  make  leafy  side  branches  ;  and 
the  fruit  buds,  that  are  to  produce  the  fruit  of  the  ensuing 
year.  The  chief  purpose  of  this  study  is  to  enable  the 
pupils  to  tell  a  fruit  bud  from  a  leaf  bud,  and  a  fruit  spur 


162  NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 

from  a  growth  shoot ;  for  if  they  set  a  fruit  bud  or  graft 
a  fruit  spur  instead  of  a  tree  they  will  at  best  get  but  a 
single  fruit. 

Any  time  after  the  leaves  fall  this  study  of  buds  may 
be  begun,  but  it  should  preferably  be  put  off  until  late 
winter,  —  February  or  March.  If  branches  bearing  both 
kinds  of  buds  —  of  apple,  cherry,  pear,  peach,  and  plum 


FIG.  62.     CHERRY  TWIGS 
The  story  as  told  by  the  buds  themselves 

-  be  then  set  in  a  vase  in  a  window  in  the  schoolroom, 
they  will  soon  begin  to  swell.  Fruit  buds  are  plump  and 
short,  while  leaf  buds  are  slender  and  pointed.  For  the 
lower  grades  select  a  twig  of  the  five  kinds  named  above 
and  have  the  children  guess  which  buds  will  produce  leaves 
and  which  blossoms.  Tie  a  red  string  at  the  flower  and  a 
white  string  at  the  leaf  buds,  and  two  or  three  weeks  will 
tell  who  is  right. 


PROPAGATION    OF    PLANTS  163 

For  the  higher  grades  it  will  be  possible  to  work  out 
two  or  three  trees  more  carefully.  Suppose  we  have 
apple  or  pear  branches,  and  each  child  is  provided  with 
one  about  two  feet  long  (Fig.  63) ;  let  them,  after  review- 
ing the  yearly  growths,  make  out  the  general  arrange- 
ment of  buds,  the  leaf  scars  underneath  each  bud,  and 
the  large  fruit  scars,  which  show  where  the  branch  has 
borne  apples.  The  position  of  these  will  serve  to  illus- 
trate the  characteristic  appearance  of  the  fruit  spurs,  and 
from  the  condition  of  their  buds  we  can  tell  whether  the 
tree  is  to  blossom  the  coming  spring.  With  the  point  of 


FIG.  63.    FRUIT  SPURS  OF  PEAR 
Showing  rings  of  yearly  growth  and  enlargements  where  fruits  have  been  borne 

a  sharp  knife  —  a  needle  or  pin  will  do  —  lift  off  one 
by  one  the  scales  that  cover  the  bud.  If  in  the  center 
a  little  clump  of  knobs  is  found,  we  may  know  that  a 
cluster  of  blossoms  would  have  come  forth  in  the  spring. 
If,  instead,  we  find  a  group  of  slender  points,  folded  leaf 
embryos,  we  know  that  the  bud  would  have  produced  such 
a  cluster  of  leaves  as  we  see  on  the  fruit  spurs  of  an  apple 
tree  in  the  off  years.  The  function  of  these  leaves  is  to 
gather  food  and  strength  to  form  a  fruit  bud  for  the  year 
to  follow. 

After  thus   dissecting  a  few  buds   of  each  fruit,  the 
pupils  should  be  able  to  tell  a  fruit  bud  at  a  glance ;  and 


1 64 


NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 


V; 


at  the  end  of  their  work  in  this  subject  they  should  have 
learned  that  the  apple,  pear,  plum,  and  cherry  bear  fruit 
upon  short  scarred  spurs  or  branches  of  several  years' 

growth,  i.e.,  on  the  "old  wood," 
while  peaches,  apricots,  and  nec- 
tarines produce  all  their  fruits 
upon  wood  of  the  previous  sea- 
son's growth,  i.e.,  upon  "new 
wood."  It  will  be  noted  further 
that  peach  buds  often  occur  in 
threes,  —  two  large  plump  buds 
jjx^  {fruit  buds),  with  a  slender  leaf 
bud  between.  Higher  up  the 
branch  we  shall  generally  find 
large  single  buds,  slender  and 
pointed,  and  these  we  shall  select 
for  budding. 

With   the   above  points  clear, 
and  by  the  aid  of  the  table  at  the 
Showing  fruit  buds,  /,  and  leaf     end  of  this  chapter,  we  shall  be 

buds,  /.     a.  trimmed  to  use  for         ,  ,  f      .,    .       . , 

budd'ing  able  to  propagate  any  fruit  m  the 

way  best  adapted  to  its  culture. 

It  will  thus  accomplish  two  objects  at  once  if  I  illustrate 
the  various  methods  by  describing  the  practical  rearing 
of  three  typical  fruits,  —  the  grape,  apple,  and  peach. 

How  to  raise  a  Grapevine;  Cuttings.  —  Ascertain  who  in  the 
neighborhood  has  a  vine  of  the  desired  variety.  As  soon 
as  the  leaves  fall  in  October,  if  he  knows  how  to  take 
care  of  it,  he  will  prune  off  almost  all  the  new  season's 
growth.  Ask  him  to  contribute  some  of  the  largest  and 
ripest  of  these  waste  canes,  cut  them  into  lengths  with 


FIG.  64.     PEACH  TWIG 


PROPAGATION    OF    PLANTS 


I65 


two  buds  each  (Fig.  65),  tie  in  a  bunch,  and  bury  six 
inches  deep,  butt  ends  up,  in  a  well-drained  spot  in  the 
school  garden. 

As  soon  as  the  ground  can  be  worked  in  the  spring, 
set  your  cuttings  slantingly,  about  six  inches  apart,  in  a 
row  in  the  propagating  bed  (see  Chapter  XXII).  They 
should  be  pushed  down  into  the  soft,  fine  earth,  so  that 
the  top  bud  is  flush  with  the  surface,  and  then  covered 
with  an  inch  of  sifted  loam,  leaf  mould,  peat,  or  street 
sweepings.  The  buds  will  readily  push 
through  this,  and  it  will  retain  mois- 
ture. If  given  good  care,  they  will  be 
strong  enough  to  transplant  to  the 
place  where  you  wish  to  have  them 
grow  permanently  the  next  spring. 

Layers.  —  You  may  save  from  one  to 
two  years  in  the  growth  of  your  grape- 
vine by  obtaining  permission  to  make 
a  layer  of  one  of  the  canes  still  attached 
to  the  vine.  A  layer  is  formed  by 
bending  down  a  vigorous  young  shoot, 
pinning  it  securely  in  a  little  furrow 
in  the  ground,  and  covering  it  with 
three  or  four  inches  of  soil.  Roots 
will  start  along  the  covered  part  of 
the  stem  and  leaves  and  branches  from 
the  tip,  and  with  the  help  of  the  parent 
vine  for  the  first  season  you  may  have 
a  strong  young  vine  equal  to  a  two-  or  even  three-year-old 
cutting.  If  it  be  impossible  to  bend  the  branch  down  to 
the  ground,  you  may  put  the  tip  through  the  hole  of  a 


;.  65.   GRAPE  CUTTINGS 


1 66 


NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 


good-sized  flower  pot,  fasten  the  pot  securely,  and  fill  it 
with  fine,  rich  soil.  This  will  have  to  be  watered  carefully 
every  day  in  dry  weather.  By  either  of  these  methods  you 
can  have  a  strong  vine,  which  you  should  sever  from  the 
parent  and  plant  where  you  wish  it  to  grow  as  soon  as  the 

leaves  fall  off  in  autumn. 
Transplanting.  —  Prepare 
a  large  hole,  make  it  three 
or  four  feet  wide,  so  that 
the  slender  roots  can  be 
spread  out  naturally  in  it, 
mellow  the  soil  deep  (if 
the  ground  is  poor,  dig  it 
out  and  put  in  a  wheel- 
barrow load  of  rich  loam), 
and  scatter  into  the  bot- 
tom of  the  hole  a  peck  of 
bones  that  you  have  saved. 
Now  dig  up  your  plant 
carefully,  to  save  the  fine 
roots,  and  without  expos- 
ing them  to  the  air  any 
more  minutes  than  neces- 


FIG.  66.     LAYER  OF  WINCHELL  GRAPE 
Showing  one  year's  growth  of  roots.    A  yard- 
stick  is  included  for  comparison.     In  trans-      s          /jf  ft  nag  to  be  carrie(j 
planting,  cut  back  as  indicated  at  c 

far,  wrap  the  roots  in  wet 

paper  or  burlap),  spread  them  naturally  in  the  hole,  filling  in 
with  fine  earth  as  you  arrange  the  roots  of  different  levels, 
and  tramp  the  earth  firmly  about  the  plant.  Finally, 
put  two  or  three  stakes  around  it  for  protection.  If 
the  ground  be  dry,  soak  it  thoroughly,  and  after  it  has 
dried  so  that  it  works  mellow  without  puddling,  rake  the 


PROPAGATION    OF    PLANTS  l6/ 

surface  fine  and  smooth.  Before  digging  your  vine  you 
must  cut  it  off  to  within  two  buds  of  the  ground.  Yes, 
you  must.  Boys  and  girls  always  demur  at  this,  but  the 
reason  for  it  is  plain.  We  want  one  large,  strong  cane  to 
grow.  There  are  from  thirty  to  forty  buds  on  your  vine. 
If  all  are  retained  they  will  all  try  to  grow,  and  those  that 
succeed  will  make  only  weak  branches.  By  doing  as  I 
say  you  will  have  one  strong  stem  instead  of  ten  weak 
ones,  and  your  vine  will  be  ten  times  as  good.  When  the 
two  buds  you  have  left  begin  to  grow  and  have  made  two 
or  three  leaves,  pinch  off  the  tip  of  the  weaker  one  and 
give  the  other  a  support  to  climb.  If  you  wish  to  have  it 
grow  tall  as  fast  as  possible,  so  that  it  may  cover  an  arbor 
or  reach  a  second-  or  third-story  porch  or  window,  pinch 
the  tips  of  all  its  side  shoots  in  the  same  way.  By  this 
means  a  growth  of  from  ten  to  thirty  feet  may  be  secured 
in  a  season. 

Pruning.  —  Practically  every  bud  or  young  vine  or  tree 
must  be  looked  upon  as  a  little  blind  creature,  wild  with 
ambition  to  overgrow  the  world.  Your  grapevine  now  has 
forty  or  fifty  buds.  Only  two  of  them  can  be  allowed  to 
grow.  If  you  wish  to  train  to  a  trellis,  cut  your  vine  back 
again  to  within  four  or  five  buds  of  the  ground,  and  the 
following  spring  allow  only  the  two  strongest  branches  to 
grow,  pinching  the  others  as  soon  as  they  have  made  a 
leaf  or  two.  If  you  wish  your  vine  to  grow  taller,  you 
may  cut  it  off  as  high  up  as  the  wood  is  fully  ripe,  and 
before  it  begins  to  grow  smaller  toward  the  tip  pinch  all 
the  side  buds  below  the  two  topmost  ones  and  allow  only 
one  or  two  of  the  highest  buds  to  continue  the  growth. 
Care  and  patience  should  be  exercised  not  to  allow  the 


168  NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 

young  vine  to  overbear ;  for  if  it  does,  it  may  not  regain 
vigor  for  four  or  five  years.  The  first  year,  if  from  a 
strong  layer,  or  the  third,  if  from  a  cutting,  it  will  prob- 
ably show  a  cluster  or  two  of  blossoms.  Nip  them  off  and 
wait,  and  the  next  year  do  not  allow  it  to  bear  more  than 
three  to  six  clusters,  according  to  its  strength. 

If  you  study  your  vine,  you  will  learn  that  the  fruit  is 
always  borne  on  shoots  of  the  season's  growth,  which 
spring  from  buds  on  the  wood  of  the  preceding  year ; 
and  your  rule  for  all  subsequent  pruning  should  be  to 
leave  not  more  than  twenty  to  thirty  buds  on  the  vine. 
Cut  off  all  weak  canes  close  to  the  stem  and,  supposing 
there  are  five  or  six  vigorous  young  canes,  cut  them 
all  back  to  within  four  or  five  buds.  Mr.  Saunders,  late 
Superintendent  of  Gardens  and  Grounds,  United  States 
Department  of  Agriculture,  advocates  doing  this  soon 
after  the  leaves  fall  in  autumn  ;  and  he  gives  as  his  rea- 
son the  fact  that  the  roots  continue  somewhat  active  and 
distribute  food  materials  to  all  the  buds  through  the  fall 
and  early  spring.  If  this  material  be  concentrated  on 
the  few  buds  left  after  pruning,  the  fruit  will  be  larger 
and  ripen  earlier  than  if  most  of  it  were  wasted  in  the 
portions  of  the  vine  afterwards  cut  away.  Since  this  is 
true,  wood  intended  for  cuttings  should  be  more  vigorous 
if  taken  in  February  or  March.  It  should  always  be  cut 
before  the  least  signs  of  growth  appear  in  the  spring; 
and  all  pruning  must  be  done  by  March  in  most  northern 
states  ;  otherwise  great  loss  of  sap  will  occur  from  bleeding 
in  the  spring. 


PROPAGATION    OF    PLANTS  169 

HOW    TO    RAISE    AN    APPLE    TREE 

By  the  time  a  child  is  one  year  old  he  may  plant  an 
apple  seed  in  the  earth.  He  may  not  know  what  he  has 
done  for  several  years  afterwards,  but  this  is  apt  to  be 
the  case  with  all  great  works  of  man,  no  matter  how  old 
he  may  be. 

Ask  each  one  of  the  class  to  save  a  few  apple  seeds, 
and  without  allowing  them  to  become  dry,  have  the  chil- 
dren plant  them  in  a  drill  across  the  propagation  bed. 
Drive  a  stick  labeled  "  Seeds  of  -  -  Apples  "  at  one 
end  of  the  row.  When  the  seedlings  come  up  in  the 
spring,  thin  to  two  or  three  inches  apart  and  keep  the 
ground  mellow  and  free  from  weeds.  See  how  tall  you 
can  make  them  grow.  Before  the  ground  freezes  in  the 
fall  dig  them  up,  saving  all  the  roots,  tie  them  in  a  labeled 
bundle,  and  keep  in  moist,  not  wet,  sand  in  a  cool  cellar. 
We  must  now  learn  how  to  graft  before  we  can  go  on.1 

Grafting.  —  You  have  learned  that  a  bud  is  in  embryo  a 
plant  of  its  kind.  When  set  in  the  ground,  certain  kinds 
that  are  strong  enough  will  form  roots  of  their  own.  Other 
buds  that  do  not  form  roots  so  readily  we  plant  in  some 
closely  related  tree,  and  they  may  grow  up  to  form  its 
trunk,  or,  if  inserted  in  a  limb,  one  of  its  branches. 

1  I  regret  to  differ  with  a  number  of  recent  writers  on  nature  study  who 
advise  children  to  get  nursery-grown  trees  to  start  with.  We  should  do 
this,  of  course,  if  fruit  and  quick  returns  are  the  objects ;  but  where  culti- 
vation of  patience,  resource,  and  education  are  the  ends  in  view,  this  is 
just  the  thing  that  ought  not  to  be  done.  This  work  will  require  only  a 
few  minutes'  attention  each  year,  and  to  have  started  at  the  seed,  the  natu- 
ral beginning,  may  develop  in  the  child  a  relation  to  his  tree  deeper  than 
the  purely  commercial. 


NATURE    STUDY   AND    LIFE 


Apples  of  all  kinds  are  nearly  enough  related  to  inter- 
graft,  so  that  we  might  have  as  many  different  kinds  of 
apples  on  one  tree  as  the  tree  has  branches ;  and  this 
makes  not  only  an  interesting  tree,  but  a  most  serviceable 

one  where  a  child  has  no 
room  for  more. 

For  grafting  we  need 
a  very  sharp  knife,  cloth 
bands  or  raffia  to  tie  with, 
and  grafting  wax.1  The 
stock  is  the  stem,  into 
which  we  set  the  graft. 
This  we  already  have  in 
the  little  yearling  apple 
tree.  The  scion  is  the 
shoot,  from  which  we  wish 
to  prepare  our  graft.  The 
graft  is  a  scion  or  part  of 
a  scion,  a  little  stem  carry- 
ing a  bud  or  two,  that 
we  wish  to  propagate. 

VARIOUS  METHODS  OF  WHIP       FJg     fry    shows    all    these 
GRAFTING  ...  . 

.  .  in  their  proper  relations. 

«,  plain  whip  gratt ;     &,  whip-tongue  gratt ; 

c  and  d,  modifications    which   give   large  Scion-S    are    prepared, 

contact  surfaces,  suggested  to  the  author     SOmewhat   like  grape  CUt- 
by  Jackson  Dawson 

tings,  by  removing  vigor- 
ous shoots  of  the  previous  season's  growth  at  any  time 
before  they  begin  to  start  in  the  spring  and  storing  in  a. 

1  Grafting  wax  may  be  prepared  by  melting  together  four  parts  resin,  two 
parts  beeswax,  and  one  part  tallow.  It  should  be  used  to  cover  every  part 
of  the  cut  surface  around  a  graft  to  keep  out  the  air  and  prevent  drying. 


PROPAGATION    OF    PLANTS 


cold  cellar  in  moist  sand  or  moss.  Cut  your  scions  from 
the  ends  of  strong  bearing  limbs  fully  exposed  to  sunlight 
and  air,  since  these  have  been  found  to  do  much  better 
than  the  large  tempting  "  water  shoots  "  that  often  spring 
up  in  the  center  of  the  tree. 

There  are  about  fifty  methods   of   grafting  described 
in  the  books,  but  they  are  all  different  ways  of  doing  one 


n 


FIG.  68.     CLEFT  GRAFTING 

thing,  viz.,  matching  the  line  between  the  bark  and  wood 
of  the  scion  to  that  of  the  stock  and  fastening  them 
together  until  growth  unites  them  into  one.  You  will 
see  the  need  of  matching  these  lines  together  when  you 
think  that  this  soft  substance  between  the  bark  and  wood 
is  the  only  living  and  growing  part  of  a  tree.  You  must, 
therefore,  make  close  contact  between  the  living  part  of 
scion  and  stock  if  any  growth  is  to  occur,  and  growth  of 


NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 


the  scion  will  be  good  or  bad  according  as  this  contact  is 
more  or  less  perfect. 

Of  the  many  methods  of  grafting  I  will  figure  two, 
one  of  which  we  shall  use  with  our  apple  tree,  the  whip- 
tongue  graft ;  the  other,  common  cleft  grafting,  we  may 
need  to  know  if  we  wish  to  add  new  varieties  to  an  old 
tree.  Let  us  suppose  that  we  have  secured  the  scions  of 
the  kinds  we  wish  and  buried  them 
in  the  sand  with  the  little  trees  in 
the  cellar. 

Along  in  March  or  April  we  will 
take  them  both  up  and,  selecting  the 
largest  stock  cut  it  off  at  the  junction 
of  root  and  stem  with  one  smooth, 
slanting  cut  about  an  inch  in  length. 
Selecting  a  scion  that  is  the  same  size, 
we  will  cut  off  its  lower  end  in  the 
same  way,  and,  splitting  the  stock 
and  scion  a  little,  near  the  middle,  as 
shown  in  Fig.  69,  slide  them  carefully 
together.  Wrap  them  tightly  around 
with  fine  cotton  thread  that  has  been  dipped  in  melted 
grafting  wax  and  cover  the  whole  wound  with  grafting 
wax  and  replace  it  in  the  moist  sand  until  spring.  It 
will  be  best  to  plant  it  back  in  the  propagation  bed  and 
let  it  grow  there  for  two  years.  As  the  buds  of  your 
graft  start,  allow  only  the  strongest  of  them  to  grow  to 
form  the  trunk  of  the  future  apple  tree ;  and  after  two 
years  you  should  have  an  apple  tree  from  four  to  six 
feet  tall,  ready  to  transplant,  as  described'  for  the  grape- 
vine.  At  the  time  of  transplanting  we  shall  cut  the 


FIG.  69.     GRAFTING  A 
SEEDLING  APPLE  TREE 


PROPAGATION    OF    PLANTS  173 

tree  back  pretty  well  and  begin  to  shape  its  permanent 
head.  In  doing  this  we  must  again  call  to  mind  the  fact 
that  the  little  tree  is  blind  and  ambitious.  Numbers  of 
buds  will  start  that,  if  permitted  to  grow,  will  only  be  in 
its  way  later  on.  It  will  greatly  conserve  the  strength  of 
the  tree  if  we  keep  watch  for  a  time  and  rub  these  buds 
off  as  soon  as  they  start  and  allow  only  the  four  or  five 
to  grow  that  we  wish  to  form  the  main  branches  of  our 
tree.  Another  way  is  to  let  all  the  buds  grow  as  they 
please  and  then  prune  off  all  but  the  four  or  five  that  we 
wish  to  keep  the  next  spring.  But  this  is  wasteful,  and 
by  the  easier  method  first  given,  as  Mr.  Saunders1  says, 
we  can  have  a  tree  as  large  three  years  from  transplant- 
ing as  could  be  had  in  five  years  by  the  more  wasteful 
and  laborious  procedure. 

In  forming  the  head  of  a  young  tree  we  must  be  care- 
ful about  two  things  :  allowing  two  branches  to  start  from 
the  same  place  to  make  a  crotch  that  will  split  the  tree 
when  it  bears  its  load,  and  allowing  branches  to  grow 
across  the  top,  interfering  with  other  limbs  and  making 
the  crown  too  dense  for  air  and  sunlight  to  penetrate. 
This  latter  we  can  do  by  often  looking  over  the  tree 
through  the  growing  season  and  rubbing  off  a  shoot  here 
and  there  that  we  see  is  taking  a  wrong  direction,  and 
thus  keep  the  top  open  to  sunlight  and  air  without  having 
to  saw  off  large  branches.2 

1  William  Saunders.     "  Pruning  of  Trees  and  Other  Plants,"  Yearbook, 
1898,  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture. 

2  G.  B.  Brackett.     "  The  Apple  and  how  to  grow  it,"  Farmer's  Bulletin, 
No.  //j,  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture.     Figs.  7  and  9  show 
type  forms  of  trees  that  have  objectionable  crotches. 


NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 

The  condition  of  a  tree  is  indicated  by  its  annual  growth. 
If  this  is  too  vigorous  and  the  tree  is  going  to  bud  and 
wood,  the  soil  is  too  rich  in  nitrogenous  materials.  We 
may  leave  it  unfertilized  a  year  and  possibly  prune  off  a 
number. of  its  roots.  If  the  annual  shoots  over  the  out- 
side of  the  tree  are  less  than  a  foot  long, 
the  tree  probably  needs  feeding.  For  a 
tree,  after  it  has  begun  to  bear,  to  make 
a  vigorous  growth  of  about  a  foot  on  the 
tips  of  its  exposed  branches  is  considered 
an  index  of  good  condition. 

HOW    TO    RAISE    A    PEACH    TREE 

First,  as  before  stated,  we  must  be  sure 
that  we  are  starting  with  seed  of  unim- 
paired health  and  vigor.  This  we  shall 
get  from  our  State  Experiment  Station 
or  from  some  reliable  nurseryman  in  the- 
FIG.  70.  'PEACH  neighborhood  or  save  it  from  fruit  of  a 
tree  that  we  know  is  not  tainted  with  yel- 

First   year,    bud   set 

September  Cut  lows.1      As   early  as   the  ground   can  be 


in 


off  at  c  the  follow-  worked   in  the  spring   we  will  plant  our 

ing  spring  .     ' 

seeds,  about  six  inches  apart  and  two 
inches  deep,  in  a  row  across  our  propagation  bed.  Cut- 
worms are  fond  of  young  peach  trees,  and  if  there  are 
any  of  these  pests  around,  we  shall  do  well  to  melt  the 

1  The  cause  of  peach  yellows  has  not  been  discovered ;  but  it  is  certain 
that  it  is  communicated  by  seeds  and  by  buds  or  grafts  of  diseased  trees. 
Write  to  the  Agricultural  Experiment  Station  of  your  state  for  latest 
information  on  the  subject. 


PROPAGATION    OF    PLANTS 


top  and  bottom  out  of  a  tin  can  and,  forcing  it  halfway 
into  the  ground,  plant  the  seed  in  it.  Otherwise  we  may 
not  have  a  single  tree  to  show  for  a  dozen  seeds. 

Nothing  in  the  whole  garden  is  more  graceful  than 
a  seedling  peach,  and  it  grows  faster  than  almost  any 
other  tree.  By  the  end  of  the  season,  with  good  treat- 
ment, it  should  be  about  four  feet  tall  and  nearly  an  inch 
in  diameter  at  the  ground. 

Budding.  —  Along  in  September,  or  earlier  farther  south, 
we  shall  need  to  bud  our  tree,  i.e.,  plant  a  bud  of  the  desired 
variety ;  let  us  say  this  is  the  Royal  George.  Budding 
is  done  by  slipping  a  bud,  with  a  little  shield  of  its  own 
bark,  under  the  bark  of  the  stock.  To  do  this  we  cut  a 


FIG.  71.     BUDDING  A  PEACH  TREE 

"T"  in  the  bark,  very  carefully  lift  up  the  angles  with 
the  thumb  nail,  a  wooden  blade,  or  the  ivory  blade  of  a 
"  budding  knife,"  cut  off  our  bud  as  shown  in  Fig.  71, 
being  careful  not  to  include  any  wood  in  the  slice  except 


1/6 


NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 


a  mere  point  under  the  bud  itself,  slip  it  into  place,  and 
tie  snugly  with  a  bit  of  raffia  or  a  strip  of  cloth.  The 
time  to  bud  is  as  early  as  possible  in 
either  fall  or  spring,  when  the  bark 
"slips"  easily.  For  the  peach  it  is  usu- 
ally done  in  the  fall,  because  the  bud 
will  have  become  a  part  of  the  tree  and 
be  ready  to  begin  growth  early  in  the 
spring.  The  bud  should  be  set  close  to 
the  ground  on  the  north  side  of  the  tree, 
and  we  can  test  whether  it  is  in  proper 
condition  by  opening  the  bark  higher  up 
to  see  whether  it  slips  easily.  After  a 
week  or  so  we  must  loosen  the  band  to 
prevent  girdling  our  tree,  and  we  shall 
be  surprised  to  see  how 
much  the  little  trunk 
has  grown  in  diameter 
during  this  short  time. 
The  tree,  of  course, 
is  not  dug  up  to  bud, 

1-iG.  72.     REARING      and     jt     ^^^     -^     ^Q 
A  PEACH  TREE 

second  year.   A, heel;    propagation  bed  where 

c.h,  cut-off  heel  in    it  was  planted  until  the 

following  spring.      Ex- 

amine it  at  this  time  to  make  sure  that 

the  bud  is  alive.     If  it  is,  as  soon  as  it 

begins  to  shoot  cut  the  tree  off  a  few 

inches  above  and  rub  off  all  other  buds  that  attempt  to 

dispute  the   field.     Before  any  growth  occurs   you   may 

transplant  the  tree  to  its  permanent  place  or  allow  it  to 


FIG.  73.     REARING  A 
PEACH  TREE 

Spring   of    third    year. 
Cut  back  to  a  '-whip" 


PROPAGATION    OF    PLANTS 


177 


remain  where  it  is  for  another  season.     You  now  have 

something  to  show  what  a  single  bud  can  do  in  a  year, 

i.e.,  make  a  tree  with  a  trunk  and  branches,  with  hundreds 

of  buds,  six  or  seven  feet 

tall.     Put  a  stick  beside 

it  and  mark  from  noon 

to  noon  for  a  few  days 

and  you  can  never  think 

of  a  tree  as  an  inanimate 

thing  again.    We  cut  off 

the  old  trunk  three  or 

four   inches    above    the 

bud  and  tie  the  tender 

shoot  to  it  so  that  it  may 

not  be  broken  off  by  the 

wind.     This  "heel,"  as 

it   is   called,   should  be 

cut  off  smoothly,  close 

to  the   bud,   in  July  or 

August,  so  that  it  may 

heal  over  nicely  before 

winter. 

We  now  need  to  know 
how  to  form  the  head  of 
a  peach  tree  and  some- 
thing about  its  pruning 
and  care.  It  is  com- 
monly recommended  to  prune  the  peach  in  February  or 
March,  as  late  as  possible,  but  certainly  before  any  signs 
of  growth  appear  in  the  buds.1  The  following  February, 

1  In  regions  where  severe  ice  storms  prevail  it  is  advised  to  prune  back 
late  in  the  fall. 


FIG.  74.     REARING  A  PEACH  TREE 

Autumn  of  third  year  from  seed.  The  branches 
have  grown  from  buds  since  spring.  Planted 
by  the  boy  when  one  year  old.  (Photograph 
by  the  author) 


NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 


then,  we  must  prune  our  ambitious  little  tree  back  to 
a  "  whip,"  removing  all  the  side  branches  and  cutting 
off  the  top  to  within  two  or  three  feet  of  the  ground 

(Fig-  73)-1  As  the 
buds  start  again  we 
will  allow  only  three 
or  four  to  grow, 
being  careful  that 
they  do  not  form 
crotches  which  may 
split  the  tree  later 
on.  There  will  be 
demurrings,  but  you 
have  learned  what  a 
bud  can  do,  and  one 
strong  branch  is 
better  than  ten 
weak  ones  in  this 
stage  of  the  tree's 
growth.  By  allowing 

1  This  matter  of  prun- 
ing back,  especially  at 
time  of  transplanting,  is 
one  of  great  practical 
importance.  Numbers  of 
young  trees  die  yearly,  or 
make  little  or  no  growth 
the  first  year  after  trans- 
planting, solely  because 
this  has  been  neglected. 
Nurserymen  are  obliged 

to  deliver  unpruned  stock  because  their  customers  do  not  know  the  value 
of  proper  pruning.  Later  on,  for  lack  of  it,  trees  and  vines  overbear  and 
break  down  or  become  worthless  by  overgrowth  of  weak  branches. 


FIG.  75.     REARING  A  PEACH  TREE 

Autumn  of  fourth  year  from  seed.     (Photograph  by 

the  author) 


PROPAGATION    OF    PLANTS  179 

only  three  or  four  to  grow,  each  will  be  again  five  or  six 
feet  long  by  fall.  The  next  February  we  must  again  cut 
back  fully  one-half  of  this  new  growth  and  permit  two  buds 
to  grow  from  each  of  the  three  or  four  main  branches. 
The  tree  will  probably  blossom  this  spring,  but  should  not 
be  allowed  to  bear  more  than  three  peaches.  We  have 
now  a  beautiful  little  tree  with  six  or  eight  main  branches. 
The  following  February  we  must  cut  these  back  half  their 
new  growth  and  remove  all  weak  shoots  that  may  have 
started.  The  next  spring  we  shall  again  let  each  of  the 
six  form  two  branches,  and  we  shall  have  a  tree  with  about 
twelve  limbs,  stocky  and  able  to  support  the  burdens  of 
coming  autumns.  This  year,  the  fifth  from  seed,  our  tree 
may  be  allowed  to  bear  a  peck  of  peaches,  and  the  next 
a  bushel,  and  after  that,  from  five  to  ten  bushels.  The 
future  pruning  will  consist  in  removing  entirely  all  weak 
and  slender  shoots  and  cutting  off  about  half  the  new 
growth  of  the  stronger  branches. 

The  universal  complaint  is  that  peach  trees  are  no 
longer  capable  of  living  and  bearing  more  than  four  or 
five  years.  This  is  thought  to  be  due  to  retaining  too 
much  of  the  new  bearing  wood  and  thus  allowing  the 
tree  to  overbear  too  young.  Nurserymen  of  long  experi- 
ence have  assured  me  that  by  the  above  method,  and  good 
yearly  feeding  and  care,  there  is  no  reason  why  peach 
trees  should  not  be  kept  in  good  bearing  from  twenty  to 
thirty  years. 


i8o 


NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 


METHODS  BY  WHICH  DIFFERENT  FRUITS  ARE  PROPAGATED 


f 

Al'Pl  ES 

l 

CRAB  APPLES  .     .     . 

•1 

I 

BLACKBERRIES     .     . 

r 

RED  RASPBERRIES    . 

i 

L 

DEWBERRIES   .     .     . 
BLACK  RASPBERRIES 

WlNEBERRY      , 


CHERRIES   .    » 


CURRANTS  .  . 
GOOSEBERRIES 
GRAPES  . 


MULBERRIES 


ORANGES     . 
LEMONS 
PEACHES 
NECTARINES 
APRICOTS    . 

PEARS  .  . 
PLUMS  .  . 
QUINCES 


From  seeds  of  common  apple,  crab  apple,  or  wild 
crab,  seedlings  grafted  or  budded  after  one 
season's  growth. 

From  underground  runners  and  root  cuttings,  i.e., 
pieces  of  roots  three  or  four  inches  long  will 
form  new  plants. 

From  root  cuttings  or  by  layering  tips  of  canes. 
In  most  varieties  the  layers  form  spontaneously; 
a  few  need  to  have  the  tips  of  the  canes  covered 
with  earth. 

From  seeds  of  mazard  cherry  for  large  trees, 
and  from  seeds  of  mahaleb  cherry  for  dwarf; 
grafted  or  budded  after  first  year's  growth.  In 
severe  climates  morello,  or  the  wild  pin-cherry, 
seeds  are  used  to  furnish  a  hardy  root  system. 

By  cuttings  of  previous  season's  growth,  by  layers, 
especially  with  the  grape. 

From  seeds,  more  often  by  cuttings  of  mature 
wood.  (Downing.) 

From  orange  or  lemon  seeds,  seedlings  grafted  or 
budded. 


I    From  seeds,  seedlings  budded  in  early  fall  of  first 


season  ;  from  plum  seeds  in  cold  climates. 


C  From  seeds  of  pear,  grafted  ;  or  from  quince  or 
^       thorn-apple  seeds  for  dwarf  trees. 

From  seeds  of  plum  or  peach,  budded. 

f  From  cuttings  ;  varieties  difficult  to  root,  grafted 
^       on  cuttings  of  vigorous  kinds. 


CHAPTER    XII 

INSECTS   OF   THE   GARDEN 

SUCCESS  in  gardening  is  quite  as  likely  to  depend  on 
knowing  something  about  insects  as  about  the  plants 
themselves ;  and  further,  the  child's  interest  in  the  animal 
discussed  in  the  chapters  to  follow  will  depend  largely  on 
his  knowledge  of  what  the  insects  are  doing  in  his  garden. 

I  shall  endeavor  to  choose  a  list  of  garden  insects  that 
will  include  some  of  the  most  important,  simply  as  illus- 
trating methods  of  study  ;  but  the  only  rule  for  a  teacher  to 
follow  is  to  take  up  those  insects  that  possess  the  greatest 
interest  and  importance  for  the  locality  and  season.  And 
here,  as  with  the  programme  for  flower  study,  some  special 
committee  of  teachers  may  well  prepare  the  local  lists. 

The  Codling  Moth,  or  Apple  Worm,  Carpocapsa  pomonella.  — 
This  is  possibly  the  most  important  and'fo  children,  when 
they  begin  its  study,  one  of  the  most  interesting  of  gar- 
den insects.  The  larva  of  this  moth  lives  in  apples,  crab 
apples,  pears,  and  quinces  and  sometimes  attacks  peaches, 
plums,  apricots,  and  cherries.  The  damage  it  causes 
annually  has  been  estimated  for  three  states  as  follows  : 
Illinois,  $2,375,000;  Nebraska,  $2,000,000;  and  New  York, 
$3,000,000.  It  was  early  imported  from  Europe  and  is 
now  at  home  wherever  fruit  is  cultivated  in  this  country 
and  Canada,  causing  a  loss  of  from  25  to  75  per  cent  of 
the  apple  crop,  as  well  as  that  of  many  other  fruits.  In 

181 


182 


NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 


the  heavy  bearing  years  the  wormy  apples  fall  off  and  are 
discarded,  but  the  great  number  of  apples  serves  to  rear 
enormous  numbers  of  the  worms,  and,  according  to  my 


FIG.  76.     THE  CODLING  MOTH  (A  LIFE-STORY  COLLECTION) 

a,  egg;  t>,  larva;  c,  cocoons;  d,  pupa;  e,  /i,  adults;  /,  work  of  downy  woodpecker  on 
apple  bark;  g,  moth  on  apple  bark,  to  show  protective  coloration,  (a  and  h 
after  Slingerland) 

observations  and  experience,  in  the  off  years,  when  apples 
would  be  valuable,  the  worms  take  the  whole  crop. 

Let  us  first  endeavor  to  gain  a  practical  knowledge  of 
just  what  the  insect  is  doing  in  the  neighborhood.  The 
study  should  be  undertaken  early  in  the  fall.  Ask  the 
pupils  to  examine  100  apples,  from  their  home  supply  or 


INSECTS    OF    THE    GARDEN  183 

as  they  are  picked  from  the  trees,  and  bring  in  the  per- 
centage injured  by  the  codling  moth.  Next  they  may 
take  a  more  general  survey  of  the  pears  and  other  fruits, 
and  let  each  estimate  from  his  own  observations  the  pro- 
portion of  fruit  injured  and  the  damage  caused  according 
to  market  price.  Of  course  in  starting  the  pupils  the 
teacher  will  appoint  one  of  the  class  to  prepare  before- 
hand a  demonstration  of  wormy  fruit,  so  that  all  will  know 
exactly  what  to  look  for. 

The  next  step  is  to  work  out  the  life  story  as  it  is  being 
lived  about  their  fruit  trees.  Any  time  from  October  to 
May,  by  scraping  the  bark  scales  from  the  trunks  of  apple 
or  pear  trees,  the  pupils  will  be  able  to  find  the  larvae,  the 
"worms,"  so  familiar  in  apples,  snugly  ensconced  for  the 
winter  in  their  silken  cocoons.  They  may  also  find  them 
often  by  thousands  in  fruit  barrels  or  in  the  cracks  about 
places  where  fruit  has  been  stored.  Let  them  bring  in 
as  many  as  they  can  find  in  two  hours'  diligent  search 
and  put  them  away  in  a  vivarium  in  a  cool  place  for  further 
study  the  coming  spring.  No  child  who  has  gone  thus 
far  can  ever  again  molest  a  downy  woodpecker  that  he 
sees  working  over  the  trunk  of  his  apple  tree. 

Early  in  the  following  May,  review  these  lessons  briefly 
and  bring  the  vivarium  with  the  larvae  into  the  school- 
room. At  this  time  a  few  of  the  moths  may  have 
emerged,  but  probably  most  of  the  cocoons  will  be  found 
to  contain  pupae.  A  number  of  the  larvae  may  have  been 
prepared  for  the  school  collection,  and  now  a  supply  of 
pupae  should  be  saved  for  the  same  purpose. 

Renew  the  hunt  about  apple  cellars  and  barrels  and 
either  kill  or  collect  every  larva  or  pupa  found.  If  they 


1 84  NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 

are  numerous  about  the  cellar,  keep  the  windows  closed  or 
screened,  so  that  the  moths  cannot  escape  to  the  apples 
outside.  Make  an  excursion  to  a  neighboring  orchard  and 
search  the  trees  over.  Look  especially  for  bark  scales 
that  have  been  pecked  into  by  woodpeckers.  You  will 
find  numbers  of  these  if  there  are  any  of  the  birds  about, 
and  by  lifting  the  scale  you  will  find  the  empty  cocoon. 
If  all  the  cocoons  are  not  thus  empty,  you  do  not  have 
woodpeckers  enough  to  take  care  of  the  trees.  Have  any 
of  the  children  observed  woodpeckers  at  work  on  the  trees 
during  the  winter  ?  Did  they  save  the  bark  scales  from 
which  they  saw  them  pecking  the  larvae?  These  bark 
scales  tell  a  story  as  interesting  as  apples,  birds,  and 
insects  all  combined,  and  one  or  two  should  find  a  place 
in  every  school  collection  of  the  codling  moth. 

Later  in  May  and  early  in  June  the  dark-gray  moths 
will  be  emerging  in  numbers  in  the  vivarium.  Fig.  76 
shows  them,  natural  size,  and  it  will  be  noticed  that  they 
have  a  little  horseshoe  of  bright  copper-colored  scales  on 
the  front  wing.  This  will  serve  easily  to  distinguish  the 
codling  moth  from  the  other  innumerable  little  gray  mil- 
lers of  about  the  same  size.  Shortly  after  the  moths 
begin  to  emerge  in  numbers  in  the  locality  look  for  the 
eggs,  flat  oval  scales  about  one  millimeter  in  diameter, 
laid  commonly  (in  the  spring)  on  the  young  apples  a  week 
to  ten  days  after  the  petals  have  fallen.  Most  observers 
speak  of  beginning  to  find  them  about  the  time  when  the 
apples  have  grown  to  be  an  inch  in  diameter.1  This  is 

1  The  eggs  are  commonly  stated  to  be  laid  in  the  calyx  of  the  apple,  but 
all  recent  observations  prove  that  those  who  started  this  story  had  not  seen 
the  egg,  but  reasoned  from  the  fact  that  the  larva  eats  its  way  into  the 


INSECTS    OF    THE    GARDEN  185 

an  extremely  important  point,  because  the  apple  trees  are 
sometimes  sprayed  with  poison  solutions  in  the  hope  of 
killing  the  newly  hatched  larva  before  it  eats  its  way  into 
the  apple,  and  if  this  be  done  when  the  blossoms  are  on, 
practically  all  the  honeybees  in  the  neighborhood  will  be 
killed.  Besides,  the  poisons  will  probably  be  washed  off 
by  rains  at  this  season  before  the  eggs  are  even  laid,  and 
it  will  be  a  week  or  more  before  they  hatch.1 

As  many  as  eighty-five  eggs  have  been  found  in  a  vial, 
laid  by  a  single  codling  moth.  As  the  insect  lays  its  eggs 
singly  and  flits  actively  about  in  the  process,  the  eggs 
come  to  be  pretty  well  distributed,  generally  one  to  an 
apple,  though  sometimes  several  are  found  on  the  same 
fruit.  In  the  northernmost  sections  of  the  United  States 
the  codling  moth  has  generally  about  one  and  one-half 
broods  a  year,  i.e.,  those  that  emerge  early  give  rise  to  a 
second  brood,  while  the  late  ones  produce  but  one.  In 
all  the  great  middle  fruit  belt  there  are  regularly  two 
broods,  and  farther  south  there  are  three. 

An  example  in  arithmetic  might  be  made  as  follows  :  Suppose 
there  are  fifty  apples  in  a  peck ;  how  many  might  a  codling  moth 
spoil  if  she  lays  fifty  eggs  on  as  many  apples,  and  half  of  these  eggs 
hatch  female  moths,  and  in  the  second  brood,  again,  each  lays  fifty 
eggs  on  fifty  apples?  Ans.  26  pecks. 

If  a  downy  woodpecker  eats  one  codling-moth  larva  a  day  from 
November  to  April  inclusive,  180  days,  what  might  be  the  value 
of  its  work  to  an  orchard  if  apples  are  fifty  cents  a  bushel  ? 

Ans.    $585. 

apple  at  this  point.  The  eggs  are  laid  anywhere  on  the  surface  of  the 
apple  and  sometimes  even  on  the  leaves  near  it. 

1  If  spraying  is  resorted  to,  it  should  be  done  after  the  petals  fall  and 
before  the  calyx  lobes  close  together. 


1 86 


NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 


Beginning  with  the  caterpillars  under  the  bark  of  the 
apple  trees,  the  life  story  of  the  codling  moth  may  be 
briefly  told  as  follows  :  The  larvae  change  to  pupae  in  May, 
emerge  as  moths  in  late  May  or  June,  and  lay  their  eggs  for 

the  first  brood  in  June. 
The  larvae  generally 
crawl  into  the  calyx 
cup  of  the  young 
apples  and  eat  their 
way  to  the  core,  com- 
plete their  growth  in 
about  three  weeks, 
commonly  eat  their  way 
out  through  the  side 
of  the  apple,  and  either 
spin  to  the  ground  and 
crawl  to  the  trunk  of 
the  tree  or  crawl  down 
the  branches  and  make 
their  cocoons  under 
the  bark  again.  This 
occurs  with  the  greater 
number  early  in  July.1 
In  the  warm  weather 

FIG.  77-    WORK  OF  A  SINGLE  BORER  ON  A       Qf    midsummer    the 

larvae  complete  their 
transformations 


WORK  OF  A  SINGLE  BORER  ON  A 

YOUNG  PEACH  TREE 
z>,  pupa ;  £-,  gummy  exudation. 
(Photograph  by  Slingerland) 


1  This  habit  affords  one  of  the  most  vulnerable  points  of  attack.  To 
trap  practically  all  the  codling  moths  in  an  orchard  it  is  only  necessary  to 
scrape  all  loose  bark  off  from  the  trees  and  fasten  around  the  trunks  a  band 
of  burlap  or  heavy  paper.  Remove  the  bands  and  collect  all  larvae  once  a 
week  during  July. 


INSECTS    OF    THE    GARDEN  187 

quickly  and  emerge  in  two  or  three  weeks,  about  the 
middle  of  July,  and,  greatly  increased  in  numbers,  lay 
the  second  brood  of  eggs,  generally  on  the  late  apples. 
Many  of  this  brood  are  barreled  with  the  apples,  and 
the  rest  escape  from  windfalls  and  discarded  fruit  and 
return  to  the  tree  trunks  for  the  winter. 

The  final  topics  for  study  are  the  habits  of  the  moth  in 
relation  to  its  natural  enemies.  It  will  be  found  to  be 
nocturnal.  Its  color,  as  it  hides  on  the  apple  bark,  ren- 
ders it  almost  invisible  even  to  the  sharp  eye  of  a  bird. 
Taking  refuge  thus  in  the  darkness,  it  escapes  the  day  birds, 
and  we  have  no  evidence  that  any  of  our  insectivorous 
night  birds  feed  upon  it.  But  we  have  one  misunderstood 
and  wrongly  despised  little  nocturnal  animal,  the  bat, 
which  Koebele,  in  California,  has  actually  observed  in 
the  role  of  "a  most  efficient  destroyer  of  this  insect."1 
Should  children  make  similar  observations,  they  would 
not  kill  every  bat  they  find.  Finally,  what  birds  prey 
upon  the  codling  moth  ?  We  shall  discuss  in  a  subse- 
quent chapter  what  we  may  do  to  increase  the  numbers 
of  such  birds  about  our  homes.2 

The  Peach-Tree  Borer,  Sanninoidea  exitiosa.  —  "'We  sup- 
pose that  few  of  the  peach  trees  which  have  been  planted 

1  Koebele  writes :  "  Every  night  during  June  as  many  as  six  of  these 
bats  were  to  be  seen  flying  around  an  isolated  apple  tree  upon  which  there 
were  a  large  number  of  the  moths,  not  only  taking  the  codling  moth  on  the 
wing,  but  very  often  darting  at  a  leaf  to  get  the  resting  moth." 

2  Refer  to  Bulletin  142,    Cornell   University  Agricultural  Experiment 
Station,  Ithaca,  N.Y.,  "The  Codling  Moth,"  by  M.  V.  Slingerland,  1898,— 
the  best  source  of  information  on  the  subject.     The  birds  mentioned  as 
eating  the  codling  moth  are  downy  woodpecker,  nuthatch,  bluebird,  crow 
blackbird,  kingbird,  swallows,  sparrows,  wrens,  chickadees,  and  jays. 


iSS 


NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 


east  of  the  Mississippi  River  during  the  last  quarter  of  a 
century,  have  lived  to  produce  a  crop  of  fruit  without  suf- 
fering more  or  less  from  this  dreaded  borer."  l 

l  chanced  recently  to  visit  a  young  peach   orchard  set  out  by  a 
man  with  the  view  of  raising  peaches  for  market.     The  trees  were 


FIG.  78.     PEACH-TREE  BORERS,  MALE  AND  FEMALE 

Female  with  broad  yellow  band  across  abdomen. 

(Photograph  by  Slingerland) 

only  three  or  four  years  old  and  had  begun  to  bear  finely.  As  he  was 
showing  me  about,  I  pointed  to  a  mass  of  borer  chips  and  gummj 
exudation  at  the  base  of  one  of  his  trees  and  asked  him  if  he  knew 
what  that  meant.  He  replied  that  he  did  not.  I  then  dug  out  the 


1  M.  V.  Slingerland.     "  The  Peach-Tree  Borer,"  Bulletin  176,  Cornell 
University  Agricultural  Experiment  Station,  Ithaca,  N.Y.,  1899. 


INSECTS    OF    THE    GARDEN 


I89 


borer  and  showed  it  to  him,  explain- 
ing how  one  such  larva  might  kill  a 
tree,  and  how,  if  it  had  lived  to  lay 
eggs,  it  might  have  cost  him  many 
more. 

Thanks  to  Slingerland's  pic- 
tures we  have  this  arch-enemy 
of  all  good  peach  trees  before 
us,  egg,  larva,  pupa,  moth,  and 
evil  doings,  the  latter  written 
so  plainly  that  no  child  can  fail 
to  read  them.  The  children 
should  be  asked  to  keep  a  sharp 
lookout  about  their  peach  trees, 
and  all  the  trees  in  the  neigh- 
borhood in  fact,  because  one  old 
stub  may  grow  borers  enough  to 
stock  a  large  area,  and  gather 
specimens  of  the  different  stages 
for  the  school  collection. 

To  facilitate  this  work  the  life 
story  may  be  told  in  a  word,  as 
follows  :  The  moths,  somewhat 
resembling  steel-blue  wasps, 
emerge  from  their  cocoons  on 
the  peach  trees  from  late  June 
to  early  September  (for  latitude 
of  New  York ;  earlier  in  the  south 
and  later  farther  north)  and  dur- 
ing this  time  lay  their  eggs  on 
the  trunks  of  peach  and  plum 


*?5.*il> 


FIG.  79.  EGGS,  LARVA,  PUPA, 
AND  COCOONS  OF  PEACH- 
TREE  BORER 


NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 


trees,  generally  within  eighteen  inches  of  the  ground. 
The  eggs. are  brown,  and  almost  seven  hundred  have  been 
counted  in  a  single  female.  They  are  glued  to  the  bark 
and  hatch  in  about  a  week,  and  the  little  borer  immediately 
crawls  into  a  crack,  bores  down  to  the  juicy  inner  bark  and 

there  remains  for 
about  ten  months, 
feeding  during 
all  but  freezing 
weather.  It  then 
makes  its  brown 
cocoon,  generally 
on  the  tree  trunk 
close  to  the 
ground,  and  after 
three  weeks 
emerges  to  repeat 
the  story.  The 
moths  are  day 
fliers,  are  not  at- 
tracted to  lights, 
but  visit  flowers 

FIG.  80.      BORER  SIGNS  AROUND  BASE  OF  PEACH       for    11  6  C  t  a  r    O  1" 

pollen. 

The  best  way 
to  deal  with  the  peach-tree  borer  is  to  watch  the  trees 
and  as  soon  as  the  gummy  exudation  appears  dig  out  the 
larva  with  a  knife.  Peach  trees  heal  up  wounds  readily, 
and  there  need  be  no  fear  of  injuring  the  tree  as  much 
with  the  knife  as  the  borer  would  without  it.  All  peach 
trees  should  be  gone  over  very  carefully  in  September, 


BORER  SIGNS  AROUND  BASE  OF  PEACH 

TREE 
(Photograph  by  Slingerland) 


INSECTS    OF    THE    GARDEN  191 

again  in  May,  and,  finally,  late  in  June.  This  latter  is  to 
make  sure  that  none  of  the  larvae  escape  and  thus  prevent 
any  adults  from  emerging  to  lay  their  hundreds  of  eggs. 
Excepting  a  few  parasitic  insects,  no  natural  enemies  of 
this  pest  are  mentioned  by  Professor  Slingerland,  but  quite 
possibly  some  child  may  be  able  to  discover  a  flycatcher  or 
redstart  or  some  other  bird  catching  the  moths  as  they  flit 
among  the  trees,  laying  their  eggs.  It  is  needless  to  add 
that  such  an  observation  would  be  of  great  value. 

A  number  of  other  borers  belong  to  the  same  family 
and  resemble  the  peach-tree  borer  in  appearance  and  life 
story. 

The  Pear-Tree  Borer,  sEgeria  pyri.  —  This  is  often  quite 
destructive  to  pear  trees.  Its  presence  is  revealed  by  chips, 
resembling  fine  sawdust  on  the  bark  of  the  tree.  It  should 
be  dug  out  with  knife  and  wire  wherever  found. 

The  Grapevine  Root  Borer,  sEgeria  polistiformis.  —  In  the 
larval  stage  this  insect  bores  into  the  roots  of  grapes. 
The  adult,  a  large,  brownish-black,  wasplike  moth,  meas- 
uring from  an  inch  to  an  inch  and  a  half  across  the  wings, 
appears  in  August. 

The  Imported  Currant  Borer,  ALgeria  tipuliformis .  —  This 
is  widely  distributed  and  renders  the  culture  of  this  valu- 
able fruit  difficult  or,  if  neglected,  impossible.  All  hollow 
canes  should  be  cut  out  and  burned  in  the  fall  or  early 
spring. 

Other  destructive  borers  are  the  larvae,  or  grubs,  of 
beetles.  Several  of  these  which  should  be  more  com- 
monly known  are  the  following. 

The  Roundheaded  Apple-Tree  Borer,  Saperda  Candida.  —  This 
beetle  is  a  very  serious  enemy  of  apple  and  quince  trees. 


192  NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 

The  larva  is  supposed  to  require  three  years  to  complete  its 
growth,  during  which  time  it  feeds  in  the  bark  and  trunk 
of  the  tree.  The  children  should  be  directed  to  search 
over  the  trunks  of  their  apple  trees,  especially  after  a  rain, 
for-  the  sawdust-like  chips  that  mark  its  presence.  The 
large  borings  often  penetrate  deep  into  the  heart  of  the 
tree,  but  the  grub  can  be  reached  and  destroyed  by  means 
of  a  wire.  The  beetles  are  to  be  found  in  June  and  July, 
remaining  concealed  by  day  and  becoming  active  about 
dusk.  They  are  about  three-fourths  of  an  inch  long,  pale 
brown,  with  two  broad  creamy-white  stripes  running  the 
whole  length  of  the  body,  so  plainly  marked  as  to  be 
easily  recognized. 

The  Flat-Headed  Apple-Tree  Borer,  Chrysobothris  femomta.  — 
This  is  an  even  more  formidable  enemy  to  the  apple  trees 
than  the  last  species  and  attacks  also  the  pear,  plum,  and 
peach.  Whether  the  larva  requires  one  or  two  years  to 
complete  its  growth  is  not  determined.  The  beetle  may 
be  found  from  the  latter  part  of  May  on  through  the 
summer.  It  is  very  active  in  the  daytime,  running  about 
the  trunks  and  branches  of  the  trees  in  the  hot  sunshine 
and  depositing  its  minute  yellow  eggs  under  the  scales  and 
in  the  cracks  of  the  bark.  It  is  generally  about  one-half 
inch  in  length,  but  varies  a  good  deal.  The  color  is  shin- 
ing greenish  black,  with  two  transverse,  depressed  brassy 
spots  above,  under  parts  and  legs  appearing  like  burnished 
copper,  with  the  feet  shining  green.  This  borer  does  not 
confine  its  attacks  to  the  trunk,  but  may  be  found  in  the 
larger  branches  as  well. 

The  Broad-Necked  Prionus,  Prionus  laticollis,  is  of  interest  on 
account  of  its  huge  size,  the  larva  often  reaching  a  length 


INSECTS    OF    THE    GARDEN  193 

of  three  inches.  It  attacks  the  roots  of  grapevines,  and 
when  a  vine  dies  of  no  apparent  cause  its  roots  should  be 
searched  for  this  destructive  pest.  The  adult  is  a  brown- 
ish-black beetle,  with  short,  heavy  jaws,  commonly  about 
an  inch  and  a  half  in  length.  It  begins  to  appear  about 
the  middle  of  July.  A  near  relative  of  this  beetle  is  the 
tile-horned  Prionus,  P.  imbricornis,  which  has  a  similar  life 
story  and  attacks  the  grape  in  the  same  way. 

The  Divaricated  Buprestis,  Buprestis  divaricata.  —  The 
adult  is  a  bronze  or  copper-colored  beetle,  a  little  less  than 
an  inch  in  length,  the  larva  of  which  attacks  the  cherry 
and  not  infrequently  the  peach.  The  wing  covers  are 
elongated  into  blunt,  divaricated  tips,  from  which  the 
name  is  derived. 

Two  important  borers  attack  the  strawberry  :  the  straw- 
berry root  borer,  Anarsia  lineatella  (which  often  destroys 
also  the  tender  twigs  of  the  peach),  is  a  minute  moth  ; 
and  the  strawberry  crown  borer  is  a  beetle,  Tyloderma 
fragarice,  belonging  to  curculios.  The  remedy  for  these 
consists  in  digging  up  the  plants  as  soon  as  they  wilt  and 
burning  them  root  and  all. 

The  Grape-Cane  Borer,  Amphicerus  bicaudatus.  —  If  a  young 
shoot  on  a  grapevine  suddenly  wilts  and  dies,  you  will  prob- 
ably find  it  hollowed  out  near  its  junction  with  the  vine, 
and,  within  this  hollow,  a  cylindrical  brown  beetle  about 
one-half  inch  long.  Sometimes  all  the  new  growth  on  a 
vine  is  killed  in  this  way,  and  twigs  of  pear,  apple,  plum, 
peach,  forest,  shade,  and  ornamental  trees  may  be  found 
to  contain  the  same  pest.  The  beetle  is  single  brooded, 
the  eggs  being  laid  from  March  to  May,  or  June,  accord- 
ing to  latitude.  The  larvae  develop  in  dying  or  diseased 


194  NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 

wood,  such  as  prunings  of  fruit  and  shade  trees,  never  in 
thoroughly  dry  nor  in  vigorously  growing  wood,  and  the 
adult  beetles,  after  passing  the  winter  in  such  material, 
attack  the  growing  shoots  in  the  early  spring.  Thus  the 
remedy  consists  in  burning  all  prunings  during  the  fall 
or  winter. 

The  Rose  Chafer,  "  Rose  Bug,"  or  "  Rose  Beetle,"  Macro dac- 
tylus  subspinosus.  —  The  adult  insect  is  too  commonly 
known  to  need  description.  But  whence  come  the  count- 
less hordes  that  suddenly  appear  in  June  on  rose  bushes, 
fruit  trees,  ornamental  shrubbery,  especially  spiraeas  and 
grapes  of  every  variety,  is  not  so  well  understood.  They 
often  come  in  such  numbers  that  spraying  with  poisons 
is  ineffectual  in  preventing  the  plants  from  being  stripped 
of  their  leaves.  The  mystery  of  their  sudden  appearance 
is  explained  when  we  learn  their  life  story.  The  eggs 
are  laid  in  the  ground  in  June  and  July,  in  grass  land, 
generally  sandy  meadows,  and  the  grubs,  resembling  the 
larvae  of  the  June  beetle,  only  smaller,  feed  upon  the  roots 
of  grasses,  attaining  their  growth  by  autumn  of  the  same 
year.  The  following  spring  they  transform  into  pupae 
in  the  ground  and  in  two  to  four  weeks,  according  to 
weather,  emerge  as  adults.  From  this  life  story  it  is  thus 
seen  that,  for  a  neighborhood  seriously  afflicted  by  this 
pest,  the  most  effectual  remedy  consists  in  plowing  up 
their  breeding  grounds  and  raising  some  other  crop  than 
grass.  Little  is  known  about  the  birds  that  feed  upon 
this  beetle,  and  the  children  should  be  encouraged  to  keep 
watch  of  all  birds  about  their  homes,  for  observations 
in  this  field  may  prove  of  value.  A  large  percentage 
of  the  food  of  the  bluebird,  brown  thrasher,  catbird,  house 


INSECTS    OF    THE    GARDEN  195 

wren,  downy  and  hairy  woodpecker  is  known  to  consist 
of  beetles,  and  it  is  possible  that  a  sufficient  number  of 
these  birds  might  be  reared  to  deal  effectually  with  this 
pest.  The  toad  may  devour  enormous  numbers  of  them, 
and,  as  we  shall  see  when  we  study  its  life,  they  can  often 
be  gathered  in  such  numbers  as  to  afford  instructive  feed- 
ing tests.  Spiraeas  planted  about  the  garden  serve  to  pro- 
tect other  plants  and  form  convenient  collectors,  and  if  it 
is  desired  simply  to  destroy  the  beetles,  they  may  easily 
be  shaken  into  a  pan  containing  a  little  kerosene  oil. 

The  Tent  Caterpillars.  —  These  are  of  two  kinds,  somewhat 
similar  in  appearance,  but  differing  widely  in  habit  of  life. 
The  apple-tree  tent  caterpillar,  Clisiocampa  Americana,  is 
a  pest  so  common  and  destructive  and  so  easily  dealt 
with  that  Saunders  says  of  it  :  "  Governments  might  well 
enforce  under  penalties  the  destruction  of  these  cater- 
pillars, as  their  nests  are  so  conspicuous  that  there  can 
be  no  excuse  for  neglecting  to  destroy  them,  and  it  is 
unfair  that  a  careful  and  vigilant  fruit  grower  should  be 
compelled  to  surfer  from  year  to  year  from  the  neglect  of 
a  careless  and  indolent  neighbor."  The  moths  lay  their 
eggs  in  easily  recognized  "belts"  on  the  slender  twigs  of 
trees,  chiefly  apple  and  wild  cherry,  in  July.  The  minute 
black  caterpillars  complete  their  development  during  the 
summer  and  fall  and  may  be  seen  curled  up  within  the 
eggshell  any  time  during  the  winter.  Early  in  the  spring, 
generally  before  the  buds  burst  open,  they  eat  their  way 
out  and  feed  first  on  the  cement  with  which  the  egg  cluster 
is  protected.  As  soon  as  they  appear  they  begin  feeding 
on  the  tender  leaves  and  commence  building  their  tent  in 
a  convenient  crotch.  There  are  about  three  hundred  eggs 


196  NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 

in  a  belt,  and  so  voraciously  do  the  young  caterpillars  feed 
that  it  has  been  estimated  the  occupants  of  a  single  tent 
may  cost  a  tree  from  10,000  to  12,000  of  its  leaves,  each 
caterpillar  eating  two  a  day  as  it  approaches  maturity. 
Early  in  June  the  caterpillars  scatter  from  the  trees  in 
all  directions,  seek  out  protected  crannies  about  fences 
and  buildings,  and  spin  their  cocoons.  Within  these  they 
change  to  pupae,  and  after  two  to  three  weeks  emerge  as 
moths,  to  repeat  the  life  story. 

No  insect  is  better  adapted  for  rearing  in  the  school- 
room. Simply  place  the  branch  with  its  belt  of  eggs  in  a 
bottle  of  water,  feed  as  required  with  fresh  leaves,  and 
thus  let  the  children  read  the  story  in  nature.1 

The  forest  tent  caterpillar,  C.  disstria,  differs  from  the 
above  in  having,  instead  of  a  white  line,  a  row  of  light 
dots  down  the  middle  of  the  back.  The  egg  belt  is  cut 
off  squarely  at  the  ends,  the  moths  are  light  brown  with 
dark  lines  on  the  fore  wings,  and  they  do  not  build  a 
conspicuous  tent. 

Cankerworms.  —  There  are  also  two  species  :  the  fall 
cankerworm,  Anisopteryx  pometaria,  and  the  spring  can- 
kerworm,  Paleacrita,  or  A.  vernata.  The  larvae  are  the 
commonly  known  "  measuring  "  or  "inch  "  worms  of  shade 
trees  and  orchards,  but  the  moths  and  other  characters 
in  the  life  story  are  not  so  generally  understood.  After 

1  A  school  in  which  this  has  been  done  for  the  past  three  years  reports 
that  tent  caterpillars  have  been  practically  exterminated  from  the  district. 
The  eggs  are  collected  and  burned,  each  child  being  given  credit  for  the 
number  he  brings  in,  and  any  tents  found  in  the  spring  are  destroyed.  The 
caterpillars  troop  out  of  the  tent  to  feed  twice  a  day,  mid-morning  and 
afternoon;  hence,  in  order  to  find  them  all  at  home  the  tents  should  be 
destroyed  in  the  early  morning  or  evening. 


INSECTS    OF    THE    GARDEN  197 

spinning  down  from  the  trees  in  summer  the  larvae  burrow 
into  the  ground  three  or  four  inches  and  there  transform 
into  pupae.  With  great  show  of  wisdom  the  fall  species 
wait  until  after  the  first  hard  frosts,  when  our  summer 
birds  have  flown,  and  then,  during  the  first  warm  spell, 
emerge  to  lay  their  eggs.  They  may  also  come  forth 
during  any  warm  days  in  winter.  The  spring  form,  a 
few  of  which  may  come  out  in  the  fall,  wait  until  the 
first  warm  weather  in  spring,  also  before  many  of  the 
birds  are  back.  The  male  is  a  frail  silken-winged  moth, 
while  the  female  is  wingless  and  must,  therefore,  crawl 
up  the  trunk  where  she  lays  her  eggs,  often  a  hundred 
in  a  plate,  on  the  bark  or  on  the  twigs  of  the  food 
tree.  The  eggs  hatch  with  the  bursting  of  the  buds,  and 
the  year  story  is  again  begun.  Our  winter  birds,  espe- 
cially the  chickadee,  eat  great  quantities  of  the  eggs  and 
female  moths.  Professor  Forbush  has  demonstrated  that 
an  orchard  can  be  practically  rid  of  them  by  protecting 
these  birds  and  attracting  them  with  winter  food.  The 
wingless  condition  of  the  females  makes  this  one  of  the 
easiest  insects  to  deal  with.  Bands  of  coal  tar,  mixed 
with  oil  or  printer's  ink,  are  for  this  purpose  fastened 
around  the  trees.  They  often  fail  because  those  who  do 
the  work  are  ignorant  of  the  insect's  life  story  and  do  not 
put  on  the  bands  until  large  numbers  have  ascended  the 
trees  and  laid  their  eggs,  or  they  allow  the  bands  to  get 
dry  during  warm  spells  in  the  winter  or  early  spring. 
While  the  English  sparrow  was  imported  largely  to  destroy 
cankerworms,  they  have  greatly  increased  where  the  spar- 
row has  become  most  numerous  and  where  our  native 
birds  have,  in  consequence,  been  driven  away. 


198  NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 

The  White-Marked  Tussock  Moth,  Orgyia  leucostigma. — The 
larvae  are  among  our  most  beautiful  caterpillars,  but  they 
may  become  so  numerous  as  to  strip  a  city's  shade  and 
fruit  trees  of  their  foliage.  They  feed  upon  almost  all  of 
our  deciduous  trees  and  even  on  fir  and  larch  and  spruce 
as  well.  As  in  case  of  the  cankerworm,  the  females  are 
wingless,  but  unlike  it  there  are  two  broods  a  year,  and 
instead  of  going  into  the  ground,  they  make  their  cocoons 
in  the  trees,  pupate  there,  and  the  females  crawl  out  of 
the  cocoons  and  lay  the  eggs  in  a  white  frothy  mass  upon 
them.  The  white  egg  masses  are  conspicuous  objects  on 
the  trees  in  winter,  and  since  the  insect  is  two  brooded 
and  may  at  any  time  become  too  numerous  to  control, 
they  should  be  gathered  and  destroyed.  This  is  another 
instructive  insect  to  rear  in  the  school  vivarium. 

The  Fall  Webworm,  Hyphantria  textor.  —  In  July,  after 
the  tent  caterpillars  have  run  their  course,  the  trees  are 
again  disfigured  by  large  irregular  masses  of  webs,  so 
conspicuous  that  their  destruction  ought  to  be  a  simple 
matter  of  common  sense.  This  insect  is  single  brooded ; 
both  male  and  female  moths  are  provided  with  wings  and 
hence  spread  more  rapidly  and  are  not  so  easily  con- 
trolled as  the  two  moths  just  described.  The  caterpillars 
burrow  in  the  ground  to  pupate  and  do  not  emerge  until 
the  following  July. 

Cutworms. — These  are  caterpillars  of  the  various  species 
of  the  owlet  moths,  genus  Agrostis.  Their  plan  of  work 
is  to  cut  off  every  tender  plant  in  the  garden  even  with 
the  earth.  Both  caterpillar  and  moth  are  nocturnal,  the 
moth  laying  her  eggs  on  plants  near  the  ground  during 
the  latter  part  of  summer.  At  first  the  larvae  feed  upon 


INSECTS    OF    THE    GARDEN  199 

the  tender  roots  of  grasses  and  other  plants,  but  by  spring 
have  attained  to  nearly  or  quite  an  inch  in  length  and  are 
ready  to  begin  their  most  wasteful  and  destructive  careers. 


FIG.  81.     DINGY  CUTWORM 
Male  and  female.     (After  Slingerland) 

Whenever  we  see  a  plant  in  the  morning  wilted  and  pros- 
trate, the  only  thing  to  do  is  carefully  to  scrape  the  loose 
earth  away  from  around  its  roots,  find  the  culprit,  and 
either  keep  him  in  a  vivarium  to  develop  into  the  moth  or 
put  him  in  the  school  collection  ;  for  both  cutworms  and 


FIG.  82.     CUTWORMS 
a,  variegated  ;  &,  white.     (After  Slingerland) 

their  moths,  especially,  should  be  known  much  better  than 
they  are. 

If  other  vegetation  be  lacking,  almost  any  of  the  nu- 
merous species  of  cutworms  assumes  the  climbing  habit, 


200  NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 

ascending  trees,  grapevines,  rose  and  berry  bushes  and 
eating  out  the  fruit  and  leaf  buds.  Newly  set  orchards 
have  thus  been  killed,  and  for  a  long  time  no  one  could 
find  out  what  did  the  damage,  supposing  that  it  must  be 
some  winged  insect.  A  man,  happening  to  go  through 
his  vineyard  at  night,  heard  the  gnawing  of  innumerable 
jaws  and  by  striking  a  match  solved  the  mystery.1 

Plants  may  be  generally  protected  from  cutworms  by 
folding  a  piece  of  stiff  paper  around  the  stem  so  that  it 
goes  into  the  earth  an  inch  and  reaches  two  or  three 
inches  above  the  surface.  Young  trees  may  be  treated  in 
a  similar  way,  or  tin  cans,  from  which  the  solder  has  been 
melted,  may  be  placed  around  them ;  but  if  cutworms 
are  numerous  and  their  food  is  scarce,  they  will  climb 
over  paper  or  tin.  Their  climbing  may  be  prevented  by 
tying  a  band  of  cotton  batting  so  as  to  form  an  inverted 
funnel  around  the  trunk  of  the  tree ;  but  when  this  is 
done  the  worms  often  girdle  the  tree  below  the  band. 

The  Indians  used  to  practice  hand  picking  of  cutworms 
in  their  primitive  cornfields,  and  this  has  been  the  most 
satisfactory  method  of  dealing  with  the  pest  ever  since. 
But  toads  and  robins  should  have  delegated  to  them  all  the 
"picking."  I  shall  refer  to  their  work  more  at  length  in 
succeeding  chapters.  Poison  baits  and  sprays  have  proved 
only  partially  effective. 

Grasshoppers,  or  Locusts,  of  any  species  are  well  adapted 
for  elementary  lessons  on  account  of  their  large  eggs. 
These  are  laid  during  late  summer  or  early  fall  and  may 
readily  be  found  in  flask-shaped  packets,  an  inch  or  more 

1 M.  V.  Slingerland.  "Climbing  Cutworms,"  Bidletin  104,  Cornell 
University  Agricultural  Experiment  Station,  Ithaca,  N.Y.,  1895. 


INSECTS    OF    THE    GARDEN  2OI 

in  length,  just  beneath  the  surface  of  the  ground.  If 
grasshoppers  are  numerous,  the  children  may  find  them 
laying  in  September.  Experiment  by  feeding  a  few,  in 
order  to  determine  how  much  grass  they  destroy.  Grass- 
hoppers are,  further,  of  special  interest  in  relation  to  bird 
foods.  It  will  be  noticed  in  the  food  chart,  Chapter  XIX, 
that  all  our  common  birds  feed  upon  grasshoppers,  the  only 
insect,  in  fact,  of  which  this  is  true.1 

Crickets  are  similar  to  grasshoppers  in  life  story,  eggs, 
and  feeding  habits,  and  are  even  more  interesting  from 
the  way  they  "  chirp."  This  may  readily  be  observed  if 
a  few  are  kept  for  a  time  in  a  vivarium,  and  the  phenome- 
non never  fails  to  fascinate  a  child.  Crickets  may  be  fed 
on  grass,  apple  cores,  or  bits  of  raw  carrot. 


GOOD  BOOKS  ON  GARDEN  INSECTS 

WILLIAM  SAUNDERS.  Insects  Injurious  to  Fruits,  436  pp. ;  440 
illustrations.  J.  B.  Lippincott  Co.,  Philadelphia,  1892. 

MARY  TREAT.  Injurious  Insects  of  the  Farm  and  Garden, 
296  pp.;  171  illustrations.  Orange  Judd  Co.,  New  York,  1892. 

1  Food  for  soft-billed  birds,  robins,  orioles,  mocking  birds,  etc.,  is  expen- 
sive, "  ants'  eggs  "  costing  about  one  dollar  per  pound.  Some  states  are 
paying  bounties  of  one  dollar  per  bushel  for  grasshoppers  destroyed,  and  it 
is  quite  certain  that  a  very  inexpensive  and  perfect  bird  food  might  be  made 
by  a  suitable  preparation  of  these  insects.  Possibly  they  could  be  scalded 
or  steamed  and  thoroughly  dried,  then  moistened  again,  as  we  treat  "  ants' 
eggs "  for  feeding.  If  the  grasshoppers  are  caught,  as  they  always  should 
be,  before  egg  laying  has  begun,  no  bird  food  could  be  more  nutritious. 


CHAPTER    XIII 

GARDEN   INSECTS  (Continued] 

The  Apple  Maggot,  Trypeta  pomonella.  — This,  commonly 
known  as  the  "railroad  worm,"  has  become  an  enemy  to 
apples  and  apple  culture,  ranking  almost  as  destructive 
as  the  codling  moth.  Thousands  of  barrels  of  fruit  are 
stored  or  marketed,  apparently  sound,  only  to  be  opened 
and  thrown  away. 

Beginning  this  study  with  the  opening  of  school  in 
September,  ask  the  pupils  each  to  examine  too  apples, 
preferably  all  of  the  same  variety,  and  report  the  result 
at  a  subsequent  lesson.  If  the  pest  be  abundant,  the 
teacher  will  find  little  difficulty  in  securing  a  few  "  rail- 
roaded apples"  with  which  to  show  the  class  what  to 
look  for. 

The  injury  to  the  fruit  is  done  by  the  larva,  or  maggot, 
boring  channels  back  and  forth  through  the  pulp  as  it 
feeds.  One  such  larva  is  sufficient  to  spoil  an  apple,  and 
since  the  fly  has  been  found  to  contain  from  300  to  400 
eggs,  there  is  almost  no  limit  to  the  damage  that  this  one 
insect  may  cause. 

By  keeping  a  number  of  infested  apples  in  a  box  the 
pupae  may  be  secured  for  the  school  collection,  and  a  few  of 
these  should  be  put  away  in  a  cool  place  until  June  or  July, 
in  order  to  get  the  adult  flies.  These  should  also  be  sought 
for  in  the  fall  about  apple  trees.  Fig.  83  sufficiently 


GARDEN    INSECTS 


203 


indicates  their  appearance.  They  are  a  trifle  smaller 
than  an  ordinary  house  fly  and  may  be  recognized  by  a 
dark  figure  on  the  wing,  shaped  somewhat  like  a  turkey, 
and  also  by  the  white  lines  across  the  back  of  the  abdo- 
men, three  in  the  male  and  four  in  the  female.  No  insect 
is  better  adapted  to  demonstrate  to  the  children  the  work 
that  so  insignificant  a  creature  is  able  to  accomplish.  The 
fly  has  been  seen  to  puncture  the  skin  of  the  growing 
apple,  generally  on  the  shaded  side,  and  deposit  a  single 


FIG.  83.    APPLE  MAGGOT 

e§S  >  b,  larva  ;  c,  pupa  ;  d,  adult  female.     (All  enlarged.) 
(After  Harvey  and  Comstock) 


egg  directly  in  the  pulp.  Thus  a  single  female  may  ruin 
one  or  two  bushels  of  fruit.  They  may  be  found  in  the 
apple  trees  from  June  or  July,  according  to  latitude,  until 
hard  frosts  occur  in  the  fall,  and  they  attack  practically 
all  varieties  of  apple.  Nothing  is  known  regarding  the 
natural  enemies  of  the  apple  maggot,  and  its  life  story 
renders  it  one  of  the  most  difficult  of  all  insects  to  con- 
trol. Possibly  a  pair  of  phoebes,  or  other  flycatchers,  or 
a  few  tree  frogs  in  an  orchard  might  save  hundreds  of 


204 


NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 


bushels  of  fruit  in  a  season.     What  boy  will  watch  some 
of  these,  so  as  to  be  able  to  tell  us  what  they  do  ? 1 

The  Curculios,  or  Snout  Beetles. — The  apple  curculio,  Antho- 
nomus  quadrigibbus ,  does  considerable  damage  to  cultivated 
apples  in  some  of  the  Southern  States,  but  is  not  generally 
numerous.  There  are  also  quince  and  grape  curculios, 
Conotrachelus  cratcegi  and  Craponins  incequalis,  which  may 
be  studied  in  neighborhoods  where  they  are  destruc- 
tive. Other  members  of  this  family  infest  nuts  and 

acorns  and  some 
other  garden 
fruits.  The 
insect  for  special 
study  in  this 
group  is  the 
plum  curculio, 
ConotracJielus 
nen  up  har.  If 
neglected,  this 
pest  may  take  a 
large  part,  or  the 
whole,  of  the  peach,  apricot,  plum,  and  cherry  crop. 

The  statistical  method  may  be  adopted  again  by  asking 
each  member  of  the  class  to  examine  100  plums,  peaches, 
or  cherries,  to  discover  what  proportion  of  the  fruit  is 
affected.  Ask  the  pupils  to  observe  the  laying  of  eggs, 
which  may  readily  be  seen  shortly  after  the  fruit  has 
begun  to  grow  in  the  spring,  when  peaches  are  about  the 

1  For  full  account  of  Trypeta,  by  F.  L.  Harvey,  see  Annual  Report  of 
the  Maine  State  College  Agricultural  Experiment  Station,  1889,  pp.  190-237, 
Plates  I-III. 


FIG.  84.    PLUM  CURCULIO 
Larva,  adult,  and  mark  on  the  fruit.     (Enlarged) 


GARDEN    INSECTS 


205 


size  of  hazelnuts.  The  whole  operation  takes  about  five 
minutes.  The  beetle  first  digs  an  oblique  hole  in  the 
fruit  with  her  snout,  enlarging  it  at  the  bottom.  She 
then  lays  an  egg  in  the  mouth  of  the  hole,  pushing  it  to 
the  bottom  with  her  snout.  Finally  she  cuts  a  crescent- 
shaped  flap  around  the  egg.  Her  purpose  in  doing  this 
seems  to  be  to  make  a  dead  spot,  so  that  the  growing 
of  the  fruit  at  this  point  will  not 
crush  the  egg.  This  crescent  is 
the  mark  by  which  to  distinguish 
the  curculio's  work,  and  it  is  ren- 
dered even  more  conspicuous  by 
a  copious  exudation  of  clear 
gummy  substance  from  the 
growing  fruit.  The  larva  feeds 
in  the  pulp,  generally  about  the 
stone,  and  the  fruit,  except  in 
case  of  the  cherry,  falls  prema- 
turely. When  the  larval  growth 
is  attained,  in  three  to  five 
weeks,  it  burrows  out  of  the 
fallen  fruit  and  into  the  ground 
to  a  depth  of  four  to  six  inches. 
Here  it  pupates  and  emerges  the 
same  season  as  the  little,  rough,  brownish  beetle  shown  in 
Fig.  84.  It  may  be  recognized  by  the  elongated  hump  of 
what  appears  to  be  black  sealing  wax  on  each  wing  cover. 
The  winter  is  passed  in  cracks  about  buildings  and  in  the 
bark  of  trees,  whence  the  beetles  come  forth  with  the 
peach  and  plum  blossoms,  ready  to  begin  their  work  of 
destruction.  There  is  a  single  brood  a  year. 


FIG.  85.     YOUNG  SHOOTS  OF 

GRAPE 

a,  attacked  by  plume  moth ;  ^,  for 
comparison. 


2O6 


NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 


The  Apple-Leaf  Crumpler,  PJiysis  indigenella.  —  Among  a 
number  of  moths  whose  larvae  attack  the  leaves  of  fruit 
trees  this  one  is  chosen  because  of  the  ease  with  which  it 
may  be  found.  Any  time  during  the  winter  little  masses 
of  crumpled  and  withered  leaves  may  be  seen  attached 
by  silken  threads  to  the  twigs.  Within  the  mass  will  be 
discovered  a  little  twisted,  horn-shaped  case  containing 
the  half-grown  larva  of  the  leaf  crumpler.  In  the  spring 

it  fasten  s  the 
young  leaves  into 
little  bunches  by 
means  of  silken 
threads  and  con- 
tinues feeding 
upon  them  until 
its  growth  is  at- 
tained, about  the 
middle  of  June. 
It  then  changes 
into  a  dark-brown 
chrysalis  within 
its  case  and  in  July  emerges  to  lay  its  eggs  and  thus  begin 
its  life  story  anew. 

The  Gartered  Plume  Moth  of  the  Grape,  Oxyptilus  periseli- 
dactylus.  —  This  is  one  of  our  prettiest  little  moths,  but 
its  work  should  be  known  to  every  child  who  has  a  grape- 
vine. After  the  leaves  have  fairly  started  in  the  spring 
they  will  often  be  drawn  together  into  round  balls,  and 
within  may  be  found  an  active,  wriggling,  bristling  larva 
of  a  greenish-yellow  color,  nearly  half  an  inch  in  length 
when  fully  grown.  These  are  the  larvae  of  the  plume 


PIG.  86.    GRAPE-LEAF  FOLDER 

Larva,  adult  female  moth,  and  folded  leaf 

(After  Marlatt) 


GARDEN    INSECTS 


207 


moth  and,  if  neglected,  they  may  destroy  the  entire  crop 
of  a  vine  while  the  blossom  buds  are  opening.  The  vines 
should  be  daily  examined  at  this  season  and,  after  securing 
specimens  for  the  school  collection,  every  larva  should  be 
destroyed.  The  insect  being  single  brooded,  thorough 
attention  at  the  proper  time  will  do  away  with  the  pest. 

The  Grape-Leaf  Folder,  Desmia  maculalis.  —  This  is  another 
common  enemy  of  the  grape  and  should  be  treated,  like 
the  plume  moth,  by  hand  picking  while  in  the  early  larval 
stages ;  the  conspicuously  folded  leaves  make  this  easy 
and  effectual. 

The  Grape-Berry  Moth,    Eudemis   botrana.  —  This   insect 
often  destroys  nearly  the  whole  crop  of  grapes  in  a  garden. 
The   larvae   pass 
the  winter  in  co- 
coons attached  to 
the  leaves,  and  if 
these  are  burned 
in  the  fall,  the 
pest    may    be 
greatly  abated. 

The  Sphinxes,  or 
Hawk  Moths,  might 
be  treated  among 
our  most  beauti- 
ful and  interest- 
ing insects  were  it  not  for  the  fact  that  the  larvae  of  at 
least  ten  species  feed  upon  the  leaves  of  the  grape,  and 
their  enormous  size  makes  it  possible  for  a  single  larva 
to  strip  and  kill  a  young  grapevine  in  two  or  three  days. 
The  sphinxes  are  the  large,  narrow-winged  moths,  often 


FIG.  87.     GRAPK-BF.RRY  MOTH 

Larva,  pupa,  adult,  and  portion  of  grape  leaf,  showing 

method  of  making  its  cocoon  for  winter 

(Enlarged.     After  Marlatt) 


208  N  ATI  IK  K    STUDY    AND    LIFE 

mistaken  for  humming  birds,  that  visit  the  flower  beds  at 
dusk.  The  Pandorus  sphinx,  Philampelus  pandorus>  is  one 
of  the  largest  and  most  beautiful  of  the  group  and  from 
tip  to  tip  of  expanded  wings  often  measures  more  than 
four  inches.  It  is  single  brooded.  The  moths  appear  in 
July  and  lay  their  eggs  underneath  the  leaves  of  the  grape 
and  Virginia  creeper. 

One  of  the  most  common  of  our  garden  species  is 
the  green  grapevine  sphinx,  Darapsa  myron.  It  is  two 
brooded,  the  moths  of  the  first  brood  appearing  during 
the  latter  half  of  May,  those  of  the  second  during  the 
latter  part  of  July.  The  egg  is  laid  on  the  under  surface 
of  grape  leaves  and  hatches  into  a  yellowish-green  larva 


FlG.    88.       (iKM'N     <  i  K  A  !•!•  \  INK     Sl'lllNX,     I'KoM     \\1IH    II     I'AKASITIS     IIUI 
EMERGED 

with  a  long  black  horn  near  the  posterior  end.  After 
successive  moults,  with  attendant  changes  in  color  mark- 
ings, it  appears  as  in  Fig.  88.  It  is  then  about  two  inches 
long,  green,  with  yellow  dots,  white  lateral  stripes  from  the 


CAKDKN    INSKCTS  2OQ 

lu-ad  back  to  the  horn,  and  a  row  of  yellow  spots,  with 
pink  to  lilac  centers,  along  the  back. 

The   Achemon   Sphinx,    Philampelos  achemon.  —  Another 
of  our  most  common  species  is  found  on  the  grape  and 


l''i<;.  S<).     AI.DI:K    Arums,   WITH    I  I  AKVKSTK  K    ('ATI*  KMI.I.AK    KIKDING 

I   I'dN     Til  KM 

(Natural  si/.c.      Photograph  by  Miss  Katherine  Dolbear) 

Virginia  creeper.  The  eggs  are  laid  in  July,  under  the 
leaves,  and  the  larva  matures  about  the  first  of  September. 
It  then  burrows  into  the  ground,  transforms  into  a  pupa, 
and  passes  the  winter  in  this  state.  Just  before  going  into 
the  earth  it  assumes  a  pink  or  crimson  color. 

The  Five-Spotted  Sphinx,  Phlegethontius  celeus.  —  This  is 
the  moth  of  the  common  tomato  worm.  Its  larva  also 
transforms  in  the  ground. 

However  terrible  any  of  the  sphinx  larvae  may  appear, 
they  are  all  harmless  and  may  be  handled  with  impunity. 
They  are  easily  reared  by  feeding  with  the  leaves  upon 
which  they  are  found.  It  is  always  safe  to  provide  them 


210  NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 

with  moist  earth,  into  which  they  may  burrow  when  they 
wish  to  transform,  since  they  either  burrow  or  make  their 
cocoons  on  the  surface  of  the  ground.  The  larvae  are 
especially  interesting  from  the  number  of  ichneumon  flies 
parasitic  upon  them,  and  by  keeping  some  in  the  viva- 
>rium,  a  school  is  almost  certain  to  be  afforded  the  spec- 
tacle of  a  swarm  of  minute  larvae  suddenly  boring  their 
way  out  and  spinning  their  little  cocoons  all  over  the  back 
of  their  host.  Do  not  say  much  about  it  beforehand,  but 
when  the  first  signs  appear,  gather  the  class  around  and 
let  them  wonder  about  it.  They  will  learn  a  lesson  never 
to  be  forgotten. 

Plant  Lice,  or  Aphids.  —  These  are  among  the  commonest 
and  most  annoying  insects  we  have.  They  infest  almost 
every  plant  of  the  conservatory,  garden,  field,  and  forest 
and  often  become  extremely  destructive.  Their  mode  of 
life  consists  in  puncturing  the  plant  and  sucking  its  sap. 
Tlfey  may  attack  the  roots,  as  does  the  corn  plant  louse, 
Aphis  maidis,  or  they  may  live  on  both  the  roots  and 
leaves,  as  does  the  grape  phylloxera,  Phylloxera  vastatrix, 
or  they  may  occur  on  roots  and  bark,  as  does  the  woolly 
apple  louse,  Schizoneura  lanigera.  The  greater  number 
of  species  confine  their  injuries  to  the  tender,  growing 
parts, — leaves,  buds,  and  young  fruit,  —  as,  for  example, 
the  green  apple-tree  aphid,  A.  mali,  the  peach-tree  aphid, 
Mysus  persiccz,  and  the  common  aphids  of  the  rose,  elm, 
carnation,  and  many  other  trees,  shrubs,  and  plants. 

Many  kinds  of  plant  lice  have  a  pair  of  minute  tubes 
on  the  back,  through  which  a  sweet  fluid,  honeydew,  is 
excreted.  This  often  covers  the  leaves  and  even  the  pave- 
ment under  the  trees.  Injury  to  the  trees  is  increased  by 


GARDEN    INSECTS  211 

the  various  mildews  which  the  honeydew  invites,  and  the 
beauty  of  the  foliage  is  destroyed  as  well.  Ants  attend 
the  aphids  for  this  excretion,  and  some  species  of  ants 
also  preserve  the  eggs  in  their  nests  over  winter  and 
carry  the  newly  hatched  plant  lice  to  their  food  plants  in 
the  spring.  Bees  sometimes  make  honey  from  honeydew, 
generally  of  a  rank,  inferior  quality,  but  pay  no  attention 
to  the  aphids  themselves. 

From  the  bodies  of  many  species  of  aphids  are  also  pro- 
duced white,  powdery,  downy,  or  flocculent  growths  that 
may  serve  to  conceal  the  insect  or  render  it  unpalatable 
to  birds.  The  woolly  aphids  of  the  alder,  beech,  and  apple 
are  good  examples  of  this. 

A  number  of  aphids  have  the  strange  instinct  of  migrat- 
ing from  one  kind  of  plant  to  another.  The  green  apple- 
tree  aphid  thus  migrates  to  the  grasses  to  spend  the 
summer  and  in  the  fall  comes  back  to  the  apple  to  feed 
for  a  time  and  deposit  its  eggs.  In  a  similar  way  the  l^pp 
aphid,  Phorodon  humuli,  feeds  upon  the  plum  in  the 
spring,  migrates  to  the  hop  to  spend  the  summer,  and 
returns  to  the  plum  in  the  fall. 

With  such  small  insects  we  cannot  hope  to  do  much  by 
way  of  description  or  classification  beyond  naming  them 
roughly  from  the  plants  upon  which  they  are  found,  but 
their  powers  of  multiplication  and  their  relations  to  lady 
beetles  and  other  natural  enemies  are  valuable  lines  of 
study.  We  may  take  them  up  in  connection  with  the  life 
story  of  one  common  and  important  species,  the  cherry 
aphid,  Mysus  cerasi. 

In  October  ask  the  children  to  hunt  over  cherry  trees 
in  the  neighborhood  and  bring  twigs  infested  with  the 


212 


NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 


black-cherry  aphid.  If  these  are  kept  fresh,  the  plant 
lice  will  desert  the  leaves  and  gather  about  the  buds  on 
the  twigs.  If  they  are  carefully  watched,  preferably  with 
a  hand  lens,  they  may  be  seen  to  lay  their  eggs,  generally, 
in  the  angle  between  the  bud  and  twig.  The  eggs  are 
visible  to  the  unaided  eye  and  appear  at  first  as  oval, 

yellowish-green 
bodies,  which  turn 
in  a  short  time  to 
shining  black. 
The  egg  laying  is 
an  interesting 
process,  a  sight  of 
which  will  repay 
much  patient 
observation.  The 
mystery  to  me 
always  is  how  so 
infinitesimal  a 
brain  can  know 
how  to  lay  eggs 
at  all,  much  less 
learn  where  to 


FIG.  90.     CHERRY  TWIGS  COVERED  WITH  APHIDS 


put  them  so  that  the  young  may  find  their  natural  food 
on  hatching  in  the  spring. 

If  this  is  not  possible,  the  children  will  certainly  be 
able  any  time  during  the  winter  to  bring  in  cherry  twigs 
that  will  have  the  eggs  behind  the  buds.  If  these  be 
taken  into  the  schoolroom  about  the  time  the  buds  burst 
in  the  spring,  the  eggs  will  soon  hatch  into  tiny  black 
aphids.  These  have  no  wings  and  are  all  females,  and 


GARDEN    INSECTS  213 

after  growing  for  about  two  weeks  they  will  begin  to  give 
birth  to  living  young  —  very  small,  but  perfectly  formed 
aphids  —  at  the  rate  of  possibly  two  or  three  a  day.  These 
also  are  females  and,  attaining  their  growth  in  a  few  days, 
in  turn  produce  living  young  at  this  astonishing  rate. 
Meanwhile,  if  we  keep  watch  of  the  cherry  trees,  we  may 
observe  the  increase  of  the  aphids  from  a  single  one  here 
and  there  to  millions,  covering  the  leaves,  growing  shoots, 
and  even  fruit,  with  disgusting  black  masses  of  the  insects. 
When  we  think  that  the  trees  are  about  to  be  killed,  a 
winged  generation  appears  which  leaves  the  cherry  trees 
for  some  other  plant.  It  is  possible  that  this  migration 
has  been  developed  to  save  both  trees  and  insects.  It 
occurs  generally  about  the  time  the  cherries  ripen,  but  to 
what  plant  they  go  has  not  been  determined.  In  the  fall 
winged  females  find  their  way  back  to  the  cherry  trees, 
the  eggs  are  laid  behind  the  buds,  and  the  year's  cycle  is 
completed. 

Most  of  our  common  species  of  aphids  present  a  similar 
life  story.  So  far  as  is  known,  some  do  not  migrate 
from  one  plant  to  another.  A  few,  like  the  woolly  aphid 
of  the  alder,  have  not  been  discovered  to  lay  eggs,  but  pass 
the  winter  in  the  adult  form  in  protected  crevices  about 
the  bark  and  roots  of  their  food  trees,  covered  by  their 
woolly  coats. 

Living  the  easy  life  of  a  parasite,  sucking  the  nutritious 
juices  of  plants,  aphids  multiply  at  a  most  astonishing  rate. 
Possibly  for  a  month  or  so  in  the  spring  the  class  may 
arrange  to  have  a  single  aphid  on  some  convenient  food 
plant  and  may  be  able  to  count  from  week  to  week  the 
numbers  produced.  This  will  furnish  the  data  for  an 


214  NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 

interesting  calculation  as  to  the  number  that  might  arise 
from  a  single  parent  for  a  season  or  a  year,  and  it  will 
open  the  eyes  of  the  pupils  to  the  necessity  of  prompt 
action  if  they  hope  to  prevent  injury  to  their  plants. 
The  mathematician  Reaumur  estimated  that  in  five  gen- 
erations, which  might  not  require  more  than  ten  weeks, 
a  single  aphid  could  become  the  mother  of  6,000,000,- 
000,000.  For  the  corn-root  aphid  Professor  Forbes  has 
calculated  that  a  "  stem  mother,"  as  the  fertile  females  are 
called,  might  produce  in  a  season  9,500,000,000,000  young. 
Placed  end  to  end  these  would  form  a  procession  7,850,000 
miles  in  length,  a  distance  equal  to  314  times  the  earth's 
circumference  ;  or,  standing  shoulder  to  shoulder,  they 
would  make  an  army  10  feet  wide  and  230  miles  long. 
Nothing  in  nature  shows  more  clearly  what  an  infinite 
power  for  harm  a  little  thing  may  be. 

Local  conditions  and  interests  should  largely  determine 
the  species  of  aphids  to  be  studied. 

The  grape  phylloxera,  P.  vastatrix,  is  the  insect  which 
has  devastated  the  vineyards  of  Europe,  but  it  is  not 
so  destructive  among  the  native  grapes  of  this  country. 
It  exists  in  two  forms,  one  infesting  the  leaves,  the  other 
the  roots.  In  both  locations  the  aphids  cause  knotty, 
wartlike  galls,  often  conspicuous  on  the  underside  of 
grape  leaves  and  also  found  on  the  finer  rootlets.  By 
cutting  these  galls  open  we  may  find  the  insects  them- 
selves. Plucking  and  burning  the  leaves  as  soon  as  the 
galls  appear  is  the  simplest  remedy  suggested,  and  any 
young  vine  with  lumpy  nodules  on  its  roots  had  better  be 
burned  than  planted.  A  little  "  sharp-eye  "  study  of  the 
grapevines  about  their  homes  will  soon  determine  whether 


GARDEN    INSECTS 


215 


the  children  shall  spend  the  time  on  the  phylloxera  or  on 
some  other  form. 

The  apple-root  plant  louse,  or  woolly  aphid,  of  the  apple, 
Schizoneura  lanigera,  is  another  important  species.  Like 
the  phylloxera  it  occurs  in  two  forms.  The  one  infesting 
the  bark  may  be  found  in  pits  and  crannies  about  the 
trunks  and  branches  of  apple  trees  ;  it  is  a  blue-black  aphid, 
the  larger  specimens  covered  with  a  bluish-white  woolly 
growth.  The  underground  form  causes  warty  swellings 
on  the  roots.  If  an 
apple  tree  becomes 
sickly  from  no  visible 
cause,  borers  or  the 
like,  its  roots  should 
be  carefully  exam- 
ined, and  if  the  root 
galls  are  found,  it  is 

generally  best  to  dig  FIG.  91.    WOOLLY  APHIDS  OF  APPLE 

it  Up  and   plant    SOme      Showing  characteristic  swellings  and  cracks  in  the 

bark  which  they  cause.     (Natural  size) 

other  kind  of  tree, 

never  an  apple,  in  its  place.  Nursery  stock  that  shows 
these  root  galls  should  be  rejected,  or  if  this  is  not  prac- 
ticable, the  roots  should  be  soaked  for  half  an  hour  in 
water  heated  not  above  1 50°  Fahrenheit. 

Other  species,  too  numerous  to  name,  may  be  found  on 
the  rose,  apple,  plum,  peach,  elm,  maple,  chestnut,  oak, 
and  on  many  herbaceous  plants. 

The  Scale  Insects,  —  Mealy  Bugs,  Scale  Bugs,  Bark  Lice,  — 
resemble  plant  lice  somewhat  in  their  manner  of  life.  As 
their  common  names  imply,  they  appear  as  scales  on  the 
bark,  leaves,  and  fruit  of  plants  and,  like  the  plant  lice, 


2l6  NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 

subsist  on  the  juices  of  their  host  by  means  of  piercing 
and  sucking  mouth  parts. 

In  the  Lecaniums,  or  naked  scale  insects,  the  scale  is 
the  insect  itself.  In  the  majority  of  species,  however,  the 
scale  is  an  armor  composed  of  powdery,  waxy,  or  even  caL 
careous  substance,  together  with  moulted  skins,  excreted 
by  the  insect  and  beneath  which  it  lives.  Several  species 


FIG.  92.     BRANCH  OF  WILLOW  TREE  KILLED  BY  OYSTER-SHELL 
SCALE  INSECTS 

(About  natural  size) 

furnish  valuable  commercial  products,  notably  the  cochi- 
neal insect,  Coccus  cacti,  from  which  cochineal  and  carmine 
are  derived,  and  Carteria  lacca,  living  on  the  branches  of 
several  tropical  trees,  from  which  we  get  shellac ;  but 
our  common  species  are  among  the  most  troublesome  and 
destructive  of  insect  pests.  Like  the  plant  lice  they  mul- 
tiply with  great  rapidity,  and  their  scaly  coverings  tend  to 
protect  them  from  the  oily  or  soapy  washes  and  sprays 
commonly  used  to  kill  insects  by  contact. 


GARDEN    INSECTS  2 17 

Have  the  class  hunt  over  the  trees,  shrubs,  and  vines 
in  their  gardens  and  bring  in  specimens  of  the  scale 
insects  that  they  find. 

The  oyster-shell  bark  louse,  Mytilaspis  pomorum,  is  a 
common  and  easily  distinguished  scale,  found  often  on 
the  apple,  pear,  currant,  and  sometimes  on  the  plum.  The 
scale  covering  the  female  insect  is  about  one-sixth  of  an 
inch  in  length,  of  characteristic  oyster-shell  form,  some- 
times completely  incrusting  the  bark  (Fig.  92).  The  males, 
which  are  not  often  seen,  are  smaller  than  the  females 
and  occur  generally  upon  the  leaves.  The  adult  male  is 
a  minute  two-winged  fly  whose  relationship  to  its  mate 
or  parent  could  scarcely  be  suspected.  By  turning  over 
one  of  the  female  scales  any  time  during  the  fall,  winter, 
or  early  spring,  the  eggs  may  be  seen  with  the  aid  of 
a  magnifying  glass,  sometimes  as  many  as  a  hundred 
under  a  single  scale.  If  an  infested  twig  be  placed  in  a 
bottle  of  water  in  the  schoolroom,  preferably  one  on  each 
pupil's  desk,  in  late  May  or  early  June,  the  eggs  will  soon 
hatch,  and  the  young  scales,  appearing  to  the  unaided 
eye  as  minute,  crawling  specks,  may  be  seen  swarming 
over  the  twig.  In  this  stage  they  are  without  scaly  cov- 
ering, but  after  distributing  themselves  and  finding  suit- 
able places,  they  settle  down,  insert  their  piercing  beaks, 
begin  to  secrete  a  scale,  and  the  females  never  again 
change  their  locations.  Later  in  the  season  they  are  fer- 
tilized by  the  winged  males,  and  by  August  the  body  of 
the  female  insect  is  little  more  than  a  bag  of  eggs.  In 
the  early  autumn  the  eggs  are  extruded  underneath  the 
scale,  and  the  body  of  the  female  shrivels  to  a  scarcely 
recognizable  speck  at  the  small  end  of  the  scale.  Thus, 


218  NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 

for  nearly  nine  months  in  the  year,  the  oyster-shell  bark 
louse  exists  in  the  egg  state,  and  there  is  but  one  gener- 
ation in  a  season.  Hence  the  scales  will  never  be  found 
on  the  later  growths  of  the  preceding  year  ;  and  while 
trees  are  frequently  killed  by  this  insect  and  young  trees 
should  not  be  planted  until  completely  cleansed  of  them, 
it  is  a  very  slow  process,  and  many  trees  are  weakened 
rather  than  killed  outright. 

Many  other  scales  will  doubtless  be  found :  Kermes  on 
the  oaks,  interesting  from  their  resemblance  to  gall-like 
knots  on  the  twigs;  Lecaniums,  of  a  variety  of  shapes,  on 
all  kinds  of  plants.  One  of  the  Lecaniums,  a  large  oval 
scale  nearly  a  quarter  of  an  inch  in  length,  has  become 
quite  destructive  to  plum  orchards  in  recent  years.  An 
instructive  story  attaches  to  the  cottony  cushion  scale, 
Icerya  purchasi,  which  some  years  ago  threatened  to 
destroy  the  orange  groves  of  southern  California.  It  had 
been  introduced  from  Australia  and  before  the  danger  was 
realized,  as  is  too  often  the  case,  had  become  widely  scat- 
tered. It  was  finally  discovered  that  in  its  native  home 
this  scale  is  not  particularly  destructive,  and  a  reason  for 
this  was  sought  and  found  in  the  fact  that  its  numbers  are 
there  held  in  check  by  several  predaceous  lady  beetles. 
One  of  these,  Vedalia,  a  small  red  and  black  species,  was 
successfully  imported  and  soon  relieved  the  orange  groves 
of  their  unnatural  burden  and  returned  to  them  their  loads 
of  fruit. 

In  general,  the  smaller  an  insect  enemy,  the  more  dan- 
gerous it  is,  and  its  powers  of  destruction  naturally 
increase  with  the  number  of  plant  species  upon  which  it 
is  able  to  feed.  We  might  pass  the  scale  insects  by  were 


GARDEN    INSECTS 


219 


it  not  for  one  pernicious  kind,  also  a  foreign  importa- 
tion, that  now  menaces  the  best  horticultural  interests 
of  almost  the  whole  country.  Every  child  who  has  a 
garden  should  learn  to  know  the  San  Jose,  or  pernicious, 
scale,  Aspidiotus  perniciosns. 

The  San  Jose  scale  takes  its  name  from  the  place  of  its 
introduction  into  this  country,  the  San  Jose  valley,  which 
took  place  through  the  medium  of  trees,  imported  from 
Chili.  Its  original  home 
may  be  Australia,  but  in 
spite  of  diligent  search 
this  has  not  been  fully 
settled.  It  may  have 
come  from  China  or 
Japan.  Three  years  after 
its  introduction  this  scale 
was  recognized  as  a  dan- 
gerous insect  enemy,  but 
it  had  been  widely  distrib- 
uted on  cuttings,  scions, 
nursery  stock,  and  fruits 
shipped  to  all  parts  of 
the  country. 

The  insect  is  minute  and  covers  itself  with  a  circular 
scale  from  one  to  two  millimeters  in  diameter,  of  an  ashy 
gray  color,  and  with  a  minute  prominence  near  the  center. 
If  unchecked,  its  power  for  evil  is  almost  beyond  estimate. 
The  young  are  brought  forth  alive,  and  there  are  four  or 
five  generations  a  year,  so  that  it  has  been  calculated  that 
a  single  female  scale  may  be  the  progenitor  of  3,216,080,- 
400  during  a  season.  This  gives  the  plant  no  chance  for 


FIG.  93.    THE  SAN  JOSE  SCALE 
(Natural  size  and  magnified) 


220  NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 

growth  and  little  for  life.  As  with  the  oyster-shell  bark 
louse,  the  young  crawl  actively  about  for  a  short  time 
after  birth,  and,  since  there  are  many  generations,  they 
flow  up  over  the  new  growth,  leaves,  and  fruit  of  the 
infested  plant.  The  tree  assumes  the  appearance  of 
being  dusted  over  with  ashes,  and  each  speck  represents 
a  tiny  pump  sucking  its  life  sap. 

The  danger  from  the  San  Jose  scale  is  further  enhanced 
by  the  great  number  of  its  food  plants.  It  seems  to  thrive 
about  equally  well  on  the  apple,  apricot,  cherry,  currant, 
gooseberry,  cotoneaster,  hawthorn,  peach,  plum,  pear, 
quince,  rose,  raspberry,  spiraea,  flowering  quince,  almond, 
euonymus,  linden,  flowering  currant,  acacia,  persimmon, 
elm,  osage  orange,  English  walnut,  pecan,  alder,  weeping 
willow,  and  laurel-leaved  willow,  and  even  this  list  is  prob- 
ably far  from  complete.  Infested  trees,  if  left  to  them- 
selves, commonly  die  within  a  few  years.  Young  peach 
trees  may  survive  two  or  three  years ;  older  and  hardier 
varieties,  somewhat  longer.  Aside  from  injury  by  loss  of 
sap  the  San  Jose  scale  appears  to  poison  the  plant,  and 
while  there  are  two  small,  comparatively  harmless,  circular 
scales,  which  cannot  be  distinguished  from  it  by  the  unaided 
eye,  the  sickly  condition  of  the  affected  plant  is  generally 
a  sign  that  we  have  to  do  with  the  pernicious  scale. 

If  the  San  Jose  scale  is  found,  be  careful  to  mount 
some  permanently  for  the  school  collection  and  send  a 
few  twigs  bearing  specimens  to  the  Agricultural  Experi- 
ment Station  of  your  state,  with  an  exact  statement  of 
where  they  were  found.  Be  sure  that  none  of  the  speci- 
mens are  alive.  They  should  be  held  in  boiling  water  for 
five  minutes  or  left  in  a  cyanide  bottle  over  night  before 


GARDEN    INSECTS  221 

sending.  If  no  pernicious  scales  can  be  found  in  the 
neighborhood,  it  might  be  well  to  send  to  your  Agricul- 
tural Station  for  prepared  specimens  to  be  permanently 
kept  in  the  school  collection.  From  this  source  you  can 
obtain  any  needed  information  about  methods  of  dealing 
with  the  pest.1 

Enemies  of  the  pernicious  scale  are  chiefly  minute  para- 
sitic flies  and  several  species  of  lady  beetle.  There  is 
some  evidence  that  it  is  attacked  by  a  fungus,  but  by 
which  one  has  not  been  discovered,  if,  in  fact,  it  prove  to 
be  a  fungus.  These  are  topics  somewhat  minute  to  be 
studied  by  other  than  specialists. 

A  matter  of  great  importance  concerns  the  manner  in 
which  the  insect  is  disseminated.  The  females  have  no 
wings,  and,  therefore,  during  the  free-moving  stage  dis- 
tribution by  crawling  is  slow  and  can  generally  take  place 
from  tree  to  tree  only  when  they  stand  close  together  or 
have  interlacing  branches.  It  has  been  discovered,  how- 
ever, that  the  young  often  crawl  upon  other  insects,  ants, 
and  lady  beetles,  and  probably  also  upon  the  feet  of  birds, 
and  may  be  carried  long  distances.  Any  infested  tree 
may  thus  be  a  menace  to  an  entire  neighborhood.  The 
first  method  of  its  wide  dissemination,  before  the  danger 
was  recognized,  was  on  infested  nursery  stock,  young  trees, 
scions,  cuttings,  fruit,  etc.,  but  this  is  now  controlled  by 

1  "  There  is  perhaps  no  insect  capable  of  causing  greater  damage  to 
fruit  in  the  United  States,  or  perhaps  the  world,  than  the  San  Jose,  or 
pernicious,  scale."  "  The  San  Jose  Scale  :  First  Occurrences  in  the  United 
States,  with  a  P'ull  Account  of  its  Life  History  and  the  Remedies  to  be 
used  against  it,"  Bulletin  No.  3,  New  Series,  United  States  Department  of 
Agriculture,  Washington,  1896.  See  also  "How  to  control  the  San  Jose 
Scale,"  Circular  No.  42,  Second  Series,  Oct.  22,  190*0.  Same  address. 


222  NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 

the  nurserymen.  The  young  trees  and  all  other  stock,  if 
there  is  the  least  suspicion  that  the  scale  may  be  present, 
are  put  in  a  tight  box  and  treated  with  the  fumes  of 
hydrocyanic  acid,  somewhat  as  we  learned  to  kill  insects 
in  the  cyanide  bottle  ;  so  that,  if  such  stock  is  accompanied 
by  a  certificate  that  it  has  been  so  treated,  we  need  have 
no  fear  in  planting  trees,  even  if  there  are  a  few  dead 
scales  on  them. 

The  following  insects  are  so  well  known  and  found 
so  easily  that  I  shall  do  little  more  than  mention  their 
names.  On  account  of  their  importance  they  should  be 
included  in  a  nature-study  course. 

The  Colorado  Potato  Beetle  should  be  studied  in  the  spring. 
It  is  a  good  form  to  use  in  lower  grades,  in  connection 
with  their  garden  work,  to  show  feeding,  eggs,  and  larvae. 
Professor  Fernald  has  made  a  careful  estimate  that  this 
insect  collects  a  tax  from  the  people  of  Massachusetts  of 
not  less  than  $75,000  a  year.  If  every  one  in  a  neighbor- 
hood would  sprinkle  his  potato  vines  with  a  mixture  of  one 
part  of  Paris  green  to  twenty  of  flour  or  plaster,  as  required, 
for  the  first  week  or  two  after  they  come  up,  there  would 
be  no  more  potato  beetles  that  season.  They  pass  the 
winter  as  adults  in  the  ground,  and  since  a  female  may  lay 
from  500  to  1000  eggs,  and  since  there  are  from  two  to 
four  broods  a  season,  this  is  the  time  to  do  thorough  work. 

The  Asparagus  Beetle,  Crioceris  asparagi,  has  a  life  story 
similar  to  that  of  the  potato  beetle. 

The  Striped  Cucumber  Beetle,  Diabrotica  vittata.  —  The 
eggs  are  laid  about  the  roots  of  cucumber,  squash,  melon, 
and  other  plants  of  the  same  family,  and  the  larvae  feed 
upon  the  roots. 


GARDEN    INSECTS 


223 


The  Grapevine  Flea-Beetle,  or  Hal  tic  a  cJialybea. 

The  Imported  Elm-Leaf  Beetle.  —  Where  numerous,  this  is 
a  good  insect  with  which  to  study  bird  foods.  This  may 
be  done  by  making  feeding  tests,  and  by  observing  the 
birds  that  feed  upon  it,  as  the  children  go  to  and  from 
school.  They  have  increased  especially  in  cities  and 
towns  where  the  native  birds  have 
been  driven  away  by  English 
sparrows. 

The  Imported  Currant  Worm,  Nema- 
tus  ventricosus.  —  This  and  the 
native  currant  worm,  Pristiphora 
grossularice,  are  both  sawflies 
about  the  size  of  the  house  fly,  but 
more  slender  and  with  black  areas 
on  the  front  border  of  the  fore- 
wings.  The  males  and  females 
may  be  found  about  the  time  cur- 
rant leaves  open  in  the  spring,  and 
a  few  days  after,  the  white  eggs  are 
placed  end  to  end  along  the  veins 
on  the  underside  of  the  leaves.  I 
have  been  informed  that  a  pair  of 
black  and  white  creeping  warblers 
kept  one  row  of  currant  bushes  so  clean  that  the  box 
of  white  hellebore,  provided  against  them,  remained 
unopened. 

The  Rose  Slug,  Monostegia  rosce.  —  This  familiar  pest 
feeds  upon  the  upper  surface  of  the  rose  leaf,  chiefly  at 
night,  remaining  hidden  beneath  the  leaf  during  the  day. 
The  rose  bushes  appear  as  if  scorched  and  are  greatly 


FIG.  94.   ASPARAGUS  BEETLES 

Eggs,  larvae,  and  adults 
(Photograph  by  the  author) 


224 


NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 


damaged.  The  parent  is  a  small  black  sawfly  with  smoky 
wings.  Numbers  may  be  caught  about  the  rose  bushes  on 
sunny  mornings  in  May  or  early  June.  When  full-grown 
the  larvae  burrow  into  the  ground  and  there  pass  the  winter. 
Several  authorities  —  Harris,  Comstock,  Cragin  —  state 
that  there  are  two  broods  of  rose  slugs  a  year.  Miss  Murt- 
feldt's  experiments,  with  which  the  writer's  observations 
agree,  prove  that  there  is  but  a  single  brood. 

The  Pear-Tree  Slug,  Eriocampa  cerasi,   is  the  larva  of  a 
sawfly  about  the  size  of  the  above,  shining   black  with 

iridescent  wings,  the  front 
pair  smoky  in  the  center. 
It  feeds,  like  the  rose  slug, 
on  pear  or  cherry  leaves  and 
winters  in  the  ground. 

The  Red-Humped  Apple-Tree 
Caterpillar,  (Edemas ia  con- 
cinna.  -  -  This  species  and 
the  yellow-necked  apple-tree 
caterpillar,  Datana  ministra, 
are  apt  to  attract  attention 
in  the  late  summer  or  early 
fall.  Their  caterpillars  are 
striped  yellow  and  white  on 
a  dark  ground,  the  one  with 
the  head  and  fourth  segment  coral  red,  the  other  with  the 
head  shining  black  and  first  segment  orange.  They  feed 
and  rest  in  close  ranks  and  strip  the  branches  perfectly 
clean  as  they  descend.  When  disturbed  they  secrete  an 
acrid-smelling  fluid,  which  evidently  protects  them  from 
birds.  They  are  the  larvae  of  moths  which  spend  the 


FIG.  95.     RED-HUMPED  APPLE-TREE 

CATERPILLARS 
a,  larvae  parasitized  by  ichneumons 


GARDEN    INSECTS  225 

winter  in  the  ground  as  pupae  and  emerge  in  July  to  lay 
their  eggs  on  the  leaves. 

The  Cabbage  Butterfly,  Pieris  rapce,  is  our  commonest 
white  butterfly.  The  females  have  two  black  spots  on  the 
fore  wing,  while  the  males  have  but  one.  This  is  one  of 
the  best  forms  for  the  pupils  to  rear.  The  writer  has 
counted  465  egg  ovules  in  a  single  specimen,  which  shows 
what  a  power  for  damage  one  little  butterfly  may  be.  But 
this  is  possibly  the  only  one  of  our  common  butterflies 
that  should  be  destroyed  wherever  seen. 

The  Cabbage  Plusia,  Plusia  brassicce.  —  The  larva  is  a 
green,  striped,  measuring  or  looping  caterpillar.  The 
moth  is  dark  smoky  gray  and  flies  and  lays  its  eggs  at 
night. 

The  Corn  Worm,  or  Bollworm,  Heliothis  armigera.  —  This 
insect  attacks  the  two  great  staples,  corn  and  cotton, 
and  is  also  a  common  pest  on  tomatoes,  peas,  and  beans. 
When  numerous  enough  to  demand  study,  the^  larvae,  vary- 
ing from  grass  green  to  dark  brown,  with  a  yellow  stripe 
along  each  side,  may  be  found  in  the  tips  of  the  ears  of 
corn.  When  fully  grown  —  they  are  about  one  and  one- 
half  inches  long  —  they  bury  themselves  in  the  ground. 
Here  they  transform  into  brown  chrysalids  and  emerge, 
after  three  or  four  weeks,  as  clay-yellow  moths. 

The  Army  Worm,  Leucania  unipuncta. 

The  Squash  Bug,  Anasa  tristis.  —  This  is  a  good  example 
of  a  true  bug,  but  a  serious  garden  pest  for  all  plants  of 
the  cucumber  family.  The  eggs  are  yellowish  brown  or 
bronze  in  color,  large  and  conspicuous,  and  neatly  spaced 
in  groups  of  twenty  to  forty  on  the  leaves  or  stems  of  the 
food  plant. 


226  NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 

The  Chinch  Bug,  Bliss  us  Icucoptcrus,  should  be  studied 
in  sections  where  it  is  important.  It  will  be  particularly 
interesting  to  experiment  with  the  white  fungous  disease 
(see  Chapter  XXVII)  which  has  been  used  in  recent  years 
to  combat  the  pest. 

The  average  annual  loss  which  this  insect  causes  to  the  United 
States  cannot  be  less  than  $20,000,000.  HOWARD. 

The  Hessian  Fly,  Cecidomyia  destructor.  — The  adult  insect 
is  a  minute  two-winged  fly,  the  larvae  of  which  live  between 
the  sheathing  bases  of  the  leaves  and  in  the  stalks  of 
wheat  near  the  root.  It  derives  its  name  from  having 
been  introduced,  probably,  with  the  bedding  straw  of  the 
Hessian  soldiers  during  the  Revolutionary  War,  and  has 
become,  according  to  Comstock,  "  perhaps  the  most  serious 
pest  infesting  wheat  in  this  country."  The  larvae  and 
pupae,  "flaxseed  stage,"  may  be  found  by  opening  the 
leaf  sheaths. 

/  Methods  of  controlling  Insects.  —  In  connection  with  the  dif- 
/  ferent  insects  already  described  I  have  laid  all  the  empha- 
sis on  nature's  methods.  This,  it  has  seemed  to  me, 
is  the  field  for  nature  study.  As  an  intelligent  people 
we  can  no  longer  put  off  the  agreeable  task  of  learning 
the  resources  of  life  and  nature  to  the  end  that  we  may 
make  the  most  of  the  good  forces  of  nature  to  suppress 
the  evil.  The  chapters  on  birds  and  other  insectivorous 
animals  are  written,  in  part,  from  this  point  of  view. 
The  swallows  and  swifts,  night  hawks  and  flycatchers, 
with  the  bats  for  night  police,  might  sweep  the  air  of 
insects.  The  warblers,  vireos,  cuckoos,  wrens,  orioles, 
chickadees,  woodpeckers,  cedar  birds,  and  others  protect 


GARDEN    INSECTS  22/ 

the  trees  from  their  tops  to  their  trunks.  The  robins  and 
bluebirds,  meadow  larks  and  blackbirds,  many  of  the  spar- 
rows, toads,  frogs,  and  salamanders,  and  several  of  our 
harmless  snakes  (probably)  feed  largely  on  the  insects  of 
the  ground.  We  need  to  know  and  cherish  them  all ;  and 
when  we  attain  to  this  larger  response  to  nature  the  insect 
problem  will  be  for  the  most  part  a  thing  of  the  past.  What 
insects  now  destroy  we  may  have  for  education,  art,  and  sci- 
ence. But  until  that  time  arrives  we  shall  need  to  know 
some  other  methods  of  dealing  with  insects,  and  many  of 
them  are  much  in  vogue  at  present. 

Insects  that  chew  —  potato  beetle,  currant  worm,  rose  slug,  canker- 
worm,  tent  caterpillar,  cabbage  worm,  codling  moth,  as  it  gnaws  its 
way  into  the  fruit,  and  a  host  of  others  —  may  be  combated  by 
means  of  poisons  dusted  or  sprayed  upon  their  food  plant.  A  Spray- 
Calendar,  which  any  one  can  obtain  from  the  Agricultural  Experiment 
Station  of  his  state,  will  give  the  formulas  for  all  the  different  sprays 
and  the  times  when  each  should  be  applied. 

Insects  that  suck  —  plant  lice,  scale  insects,  squash  bugs,  and  bugs 
generally  —  require  substances  that  will  kill  by  contact,  or  soapy  or 
oily  mixtures  that  will  get  into  their  breathing  pores  and  smother 
them.  Your  Spray-Calendar  will  give  all  of  these  preparations  with 
directions  for  their  use. 

Insects  that  bore  can  be  detected  by  the  sawdust-like  chips  or  the 
exudations  of  sap  or  gum  from  burrows.  Those  that  work  in  or  just 
under  the  bark  may  be  cut  out  with  a  knife.  Such  as  work  deeper 
can  often  be  destroyed  with  a  piece  of  piano  wire.  Another  way  to 
reach  the  villains  is  to  inject  a  little  carbon  bisulphide  into  the  burrow 
and  quickly  plug  it  up  tight. 


CHAPTER    XIV 

BENEFICIALJJfSECTS 

THE  HONEYBEE 

WE  may  begin  by  asking  the  class  some  bright  morning 
in  May  :  What  did  you  see  the  bees  doing,  on  your  way 
to  school  ?  What  flowers  were  they  on  ?  Did  you  see 
their  hip  pockets  full  of  pollen  ?  What  do  you  suppose 
they  do  with  that  ?  Where  do  they  find  the  honey  ? 
These  with  a  hundred  others  are  just  the  questions  with 
which  to  begin  the  study  of  the  honeybee's  life  and  work. 

Have  in  different  vials  a  house  fly,  bluebottle,  wasp, 
hornet,  ant,  bumblebee,  a  honeybee,  if  possible  with  pollen 
on  its  thighs,  and  any  other  insects  that  may  look  some- 
what like  a  honeybee.  Pass  them  around  and  find  out 
how  many  can  tell  a  honeybee  from  every  other  insect. 
Do  not  let  anybody  tell  until  all  have  had  a  good  chance  to 
see.  Ask  each  child  to  borrow  somebody's  watch  between 
this  lesson  and  the  next  and  to  follow  a  bee  for  five 
minutes,  and  be  prepared  to  tell  exactly  what  it  did. 
How  many  blossoms  did  it  visit  ?  What  kind  were  they? 
Were  they  all  the  same  kind,  or  did  it  go  from  one  kind 
to  another  ?  From  their  observations,  what  can  they  say 
as  to  the  flowers  the  bees  like  best  ?  Could  they  see 
how  a  bee  fills  its  pollen  baskets  ?  For  lower  grades  and 
the  kindergarten,  a  pound  section  of  honey  may  furnish 

228 


BENEFICIAL    INSECTS 


229 


material  for  an  instructive  demonstration.  In  higher 
grades,  something  of  the  same  kind  may  be  done  by 
way  of  testing  different  specimens,  to  see  if  the  pupils 
can  distinguish  the  aroma  of  the  flower  from  which  the 
honey  is  made,  comparing 
pure  honey  with  a  sample  of 
some  adulterated  honey  that 
may  have  found  its  way  into 
the  neighboring  stores. 

The  next  series  of  lessons 
may  well  be  directed  to  dis- 
covering the  influence  of  bees 
on  the  pollination  of  flowers 
and  fruits.  Select,  or  raise 
in  the  school  garden,  two 
similar  clumps  of  white  or 
alsike  clover.  To  study  the 
work  of  bumblebees  red 
clover  may  be  used.  Cover 
one  clump  with  netting  be- 
fore any  of  the  blossoms  open, 
leaving  the  other  uncovered. 
Have  some  one  appointed  to 
save  and  count  all  the  heads 
that  mature  in  each  clump ; 
carefully  thresh  out  the  seeds 
and  put  up  in  two  vials,  properly  labeled.1 

Any  other  flowers  that  are  of  interest  in  the  locality 
may  be  treated  in  the  same  way  ;  at  least,  a  number  of 

1  If  crimson  clover  is  used,  the  whole  experiment  may  be  completed  in 
the  spring  term. 


FIG.  96.     HONEYBEES 
a,  worker ;  6,  queen  ;  c,  drone. 


230  NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE      . 

our  common  garden  fruits  should  be  experimented  with 
Cover  a  clump  of  strawberries  before  the  buds  open,  and 
count  the  blossoms  ;  leave  a  similar  clump  uncovered, 
and  compare  the  fruit.  In  the  same  way  cover  a  small 
branch  of  plum,  peach,  quince,  pear,  cherry,  and  apple. 
This  has  been  done  for  some  of  our  fruits,  with  the 
result  that  not  only  are  more  fruits  generally  found  to 
"set"  on  the  exposed  branches,  but  the  fruit  is  often 
larger,  plumper,  and  richer  in  quality,  and  the  seeds  are 
large  and  well  developed,  while  those  in  self-pollinated 
fruits  on  the  same  tree  are  small  and  often  abortive,  i.e., 
without  kernels.  When  these  experiments  are  made,  the 
fruits  may  be  saved,  preserved  in  formalin,  or  may  be  care- 
fully drawn  to  exact  size  for  the  school  collection.  The 
seeds  may  also  be  preserved  to  show  that,  in  times  past, 
a  honeybee  possibly  assisted  in  the  production  of  those 
seeds  that  have  given  origin  to  many  of  our  improved 
varieties  of  fruit.1 

The  study  will  naturally  irradiate  into  the  more  general 
subject  of  the  value  of  insects  in  cross-pollination.  What 
other  insects  are  seen  about  the  fruit  blossoms  ?  Are 
other  insects  numerous  at  this  season  ?  With  all  of  our 
native  bees  —  bumblebees,  hornets,  wasps  —  the  queens 
alone  survive  the  winter.  Comparatively  few  of  the  other 
blossom-seeking  insects  live  through  the  winter,  and  many 
of  these  do  not  come  out  of  their  winter  quarters  in  time 
for  fruit  bloom.  Here  we  have  the  one  efficient  insect 
which  carries  over  the  winter  an  army  of  workers,  ready  to 

1  "  The  Pollination  of  Pear  Flowers,"  Merton  B.  White,  United  States 
Department  of  Agriculture,  1894.  See  also  "  Pollination  in  Orchards," 
Bulletin  i8f,  Cornell  University  Agricultural  Experiment  Station,  1900. 


BENEFICIAL    INSECTS  231 

pour  forth  into  the  orchards  and  do  the  work  that  the  trees 
require  at  this  season.  How  manyfruit  blossoms  does  a  bee 
visit  in  a  minute  ?  I  have  counted  a  number  of  times,  and 
the  average  is  about  twenty  per  minute.  How  many  men 
or  boys  would  it  take  to  do  as  much  of  this  work  as  a  single 
bee  ?  as  a  hive  of  twenty  thousand  ?  Attempts  have  been 
made  to  raise  fruit  on  a  large  scale  with  no  bees  in  the  local- 
ity, but  year  after  year  no  fruit  has  been  produced.  Bees 
were  introduced,  and  abundant  crops  followed.  Seasons 
in  which  the  weather  is  too  cold  or  stormy  for  bees  to  fly 
during  fruit  bloom  are  well  known  to  be  poor  fruit  years. 
Is  the  neighborhood  well  stocked  with  bees  ?  This  is 
the  next  question.  Mr.  Benton  has  estimated  that  there 
are  about  one-tenth  as  many  bees  as  the  flowers  of  the 
land  will  support,  at  the  average  profit  per  hive.  Some 
approximation  to  an  answer  to  our  question  may  be 
attained  by  asking  the  pupils  to  collect  statistics  as  to 
the  yield  of  honey  per  colony  in  the  neighborhood.  An 
average  yield  of  honey  for  large  apiaries  is  from  about  50 
to  100  pounds  per  colony.  Of  course  the  management  of 
the  bees  makes  a  great  difference  in  the  yield,  as  does  also 
the  season.1  A  single  swarm  has  been  known  to  make 
1000  pounds  in  a  season.  Bees  are  supposed  to  fly  and 
do  most  of  their  collecting  within  a  radius  of  about  two 
miles,  and  within  this  circle,  four  miles  in  diameter,  it  is 
commonly  estimated  that  200  swarms  may  be  maintained.2 

1 A  hive  has  been  known  to  gain  thirty-two  pounds  in  weight  in  a  single 
day  during  an  abundant  flow  of  linden  nectar.  Of  course  this  is  nectar, 
which  must  be  evaporated  down  by  the  bees  before  it  is  honey. 

2  Bees  have  been  kept  on  an  island  and  have  been  proved  to  fly  as  far 
as  seven  miles  to  find  the  flowers.  How  well  they  thrived  under  these 
conditions,  however,  is  not  stated. 


232  NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 

The  next  topic  is  the  management  of  a  hive  of  bees. 
How  many  of  the  class  know  anything  about  it  ?  How 
many  have  bees  of  their  own  ?  Do  any  of  their  parents 
keep  bees  ?  If  none  of  the  children  or  their  parents  have 
bees,  the  study  may  have  to  be  concluded  at'  this  point. 
If,  however,  the  locality  be  favorable,  there  is  one  more 
question  to  be  asked.  Who  will  volunteer  to  get  some 
bees  and  begin  to  study  them  ? 

A  swarm  of  bees  in  a  glass  hive  in  an  upper  story  or 
attic  window  of  the  school  building  may  prove  a  most 
instructive  part  of  the  nature-study  equipment,  where  con- 
ditions in  the  school  and  district  permit.  Under  these 
conditions,  I  include  a  number  of  things.  The  spirit  of 
the  school  comes  first.  If  bees  are  common  and  every- 
body knows  and  sees  enough  of  them,  it  may  not  be 
valuable.  If  nobody  knows  anything  about  the  manage- 
ment of  them,  wait  until  somebody  learns  before  attempt- 
ing it.  Bees  are  sometimes  kept  with  profit  on  the  roofs 
of  houses  in  large  cities,  but,  in  general,  where  there  are 
no  flowers  within  two  or  three  miles,  a  school  hive  is 
out  of  the  question. 

One  thing  is  clear  at  the  outset.  -If  it  is  deemed  advis- 
able to  have  a  school  hive,  none  of  the  care  of  it  should 
be  allowed  to  devolve  upon  the  teacher.  True,  if  one  thor- 
oughly understands  the  subject,  there  need  be  but  little 
work  about  managing  a  single  swarm  of  bees ;  still  this 
little  must  be  done  at  the  proper  times,  and  a  teacher 
already  has  too  many  things  to  look  after.  If  some  one, 
or  better,  if  a  group  of  the  older  children,  wish  to  volunteer 
to  put  the  hive  in  the  school  or  in  one  of  their  homes, 
where  it  will  be  available  for  study,  then  the  experiment 


BENEFICIAL    INSECTS 


233 


may  be  tried  and  will  probably  prove  successful.  Its  suc- 
cess will  be  doubly  assured  if  some  parent  who  under- 
stands bee  keeping  and  is  interested  in  the  school  will 
direct  and  assist  the  children  in  their  work.  The  follow- 
ing suggestions  are  offered  to  help  such  a  group  of  children. 
They  embody  the  results  of  four  years  of  experimenting 
as  to  the  simplest  methods  of  demonstrating  the  life  of 
the  hive.1 

First  a  "  nucleus  hive,"  i.e.,  a  little  hive,  may  be  made 
with  an  ordinary  one-pound  section  and  a  glass  case  to  fit 
over  it.  To  arrange  this  select  a  partially  filled  section  of 
honey  and  drive  small 
brads  into  the  corners, 
letting  the  heads  stick 
out  one-half  of  an  inch 
below  for  it  to  stand  on 
and  a  quarter  of  an  inch 
at  the  sides  to  insure 
room  for  the  bees  to 


FIG.  97.     NUCLEUS  HIVE 


pass  between  the  section  and  the  glass  case  that  is  to 
Cover  it.  Next  cut  pieces  of  glass  the  right  size  to 
make  a  glass  case  to  slip  over  the  section.  The  front 
glass  must  be  cut  one-quarter  of  an  inch  short  to  allow  a 
space  for  the  bees  to  go  in  and  out  at  the  bottom  in  front. 
Fasten  this  together  with  half-inch  strips  of  black  cotton 
cloth  and  glue,  laying  the  strips  over  the  corners.  After 


1  If  local  libraries  or  the  neighborhood  are  not  supplied  with  books  on 
bees,  the  class  should  get  Bulletin  No.  i,  United  States  Department  of 
Agriculture,  "  The  Honey  Bee,"  by  Frank  Benton.  It  may  be  obtained 
from  the  Superintendent  of  Documents,  Union  Building,  Washington,  D.C., 
for  25  cents. 


234 


NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 


the  glue  is  dry  flow  a  little  melted  beeswax,  with  a  hot 
case  knife,  all  around  the  corners  on  the  inside.  This  is 
to  prevent  moisture  of  the  bees  from  softening  the  glue. 
The  bottom  should  be  made  of  a  board,  about  six  inches 


FIG.  98.    SINGLE-FRAME  OBSERVATION  HIVE  IN  POSITION 
(Photograph  by  the  author) 

wide  and  long  enough  to  extend  ten  inches  in  front  of  the 
hive.  Bees  need  to  be  kept  warm,  and  they  commonly 
insist  upon  having  their  hive  totally  dark.  To  secure 
both  of  these  conditions,  make  a  rather  thick  quilt  that 
can  be  pinned  snugly  over  the  glass  case. 


BENEFICIAL    INSECTS 


235 


It  remains  to  mount  the  hive  in  some  upstairs  window, 
preferably  in  the  attic,  or  in  some  room  that  is  not  used, 


FIG.  99.    OBSERVATION  HIVE  IN  POSITION 

The  large  box  is  known  as  the  "  brood  chamber,"  or  "  hive  body."  In  it  the  queen 
lives  and  lays  eggs,  and  the  bees  nurse  the  young,  or  "  brood."  The  two  cases 
above  are  the  "  supers,"  in  which  the  bees  store  their  surplus  honey.  Toward 
the  window  is  seen  the  wire  screen  passageway,  through  which  the  workers  go 
and  come 

Fasten  a  narrow  board  under  the  sash,  and,  setting  the 
hive  in  place,  mark  where  the  bottom  board  comes  and  cut 
a  hole  one  inch  wide  by  one-half  of  an  inch  deep,  through 


236  NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 

which  the  bees  may  go  out.  Finally,  make  a  screen-wire 
tunnel,  an  inch  high  and  as  wide  as  the  hive,  to  fit  perfectly 
between  the  hive  and  the  board  under  the  window  sash. 
This  is  to  prevent  the  bees  from  escaping  into  the  room. 

The  best  time  to  fill  the  hive  is  in  the  spring,  when 
some  local  bee  keeper  is  "  cutting  out"  his  first  queen 
cells.  Take  the  little  hive  to  him  and  get  him  to  insert 
a  capped  queen  cell  with  about  a  teacupful  of  bees  from 
the  same  hive,  closing  it  up  so  that  no  bees  can  escape. 
It  may  then  be  screwed  to  the  window  sill  where  it  is  to 
stand.  The  bees  should  be  confined  for  three  or  four 
days,  if  possible,  until  the  young  queen  emerges,  and  it 
is 'well  to  feed  them  a  little  syrup  or  honey  daily  to 
make  them  feel  at  home,  otherwise  they  may  all  decamp 
to  their  hive.1  Fig.  97  shows  this  hive  in  position. 

An  observation  hive  that  is  more  certain  to  give  satis- 
faction is  shown  in  Fig.  98.  The  glass  case  for  this  may 
be  made  like  the  other  except  that  the  front  glass  is 
replaced  by  a  strong  wooden  post,  with  entrance  hole 
below,  very  securely  screwed  to  the  bottom  board.  The 
size  must  be  governed  by  the  size  of  the  frames  in  the 
hive  from  which  the  bees  are  to  come.  Take  this  to  a 
bee  keeper  and  have  him  set  in  one  of  his  frames,  well 
filled  with  brood  and  covered  with  bees.  He  will  be  sure 

1  I  have  had  two  of  these  little  hives  made  from  one-pound  sections,  and 
nothing  more  interesting  could  be  desired.  In  one  of  them  that  stood  in 
my  window  an  entire  season  I  was  able  to  study  every  activity  of  bees,  even 
better  than  in  a  larger  hive.  The  third  one  I  tried  in  exactly  the  same  way 
worked  well  for  a  few  weeks,  when  the  queen  concluded  that  it  was  too 
small  for  her  ambitions,  and  she  forthwith  decamped,  taking  all  the  bees 
with  her.  They  next  went  into  one  of  my  bird  houses  in  a  tree,  but  soon  left 
that.  It  would  probably  be  difficult  to  keep  so  small  a  hive  alive  over  winter. 


BENEFICIAL    INSECTS  237 

that  there  are  eggs  in  it  from  which  the  bees  may  rear  a 
queen,  and  this  interesting  process  may  then  be  observed 
by  the  school  from  day  to  day,  and  it  will  be  a  red-letter 
day  when  her  royal  highness  comes  out. 

A  third  form  of  school  hive  is  a  full-sized  swarm  in  a 
glass  box.  This  can  be  made  of  one-inch  pine  for  the 
frame,  with  glass  set  in  for  ends  and  sides.  The  top 
should  be  made  of  a  similar,  glazed  frame  just  large 
enough  to  cover  a  honey  super.  If  this  be  narrower  than 
the  top  of  the  hive,  it  may  be  supplemented  by  narrow 
strips  of  board.  The  whole  stands,  without  fastening, 
on  a  solid  bottom  board,  which  may  be  screwed  to  the 
window  sill  in  front  and  supported  by  a  post  at  the  back. 
Otherwise  its  mounting,  covering,  and  manipulation  is  in 
every  way  like  that  of  the  smaller  hives  described  above.1 

Each  form  of  hive  has  some  special  feature  to  its 
advantage.  The  small  one  requires  little  room  and  still 
demonstrates  the  whole  life  of  the  hive.  The  single  large 
frame  does  this  more  perfectly,  but  may  cost  something. 
The  single-frame  hives  both  possess  the  advantage  that  the 
queen  can  always  be  found,  and  in  the  larger  one  young 
bees  may  generally  be  seen  gnawing  their  way  out  of  their 
cells,  —  two  most  interesting  things  to  watch.  Marked 
bees  may  also  be  followed  when  they  come  in,  and  may  be 
seen  distributing  their  load  of  nectar  to  the  other  bees  or 
kicking  off  their  pollen  balls  into  the  cells.  On  the  other 

1  Bees  are  greatly  disturbed  by  any  jarring  of  their  hive,  about  as  much 
as  human  communities  are  by  earthquakes.  This  is  obviated  by  the  quilt 
coverings.  For  the  large  hive  it  is  well  to  make  these  in  square  sections, 
each  large  enough  to  cover  a  side  or  end,  and  with  one  longer  strip  which 
can  cover  one  side,  and  the  top  with  three  supers  in  place. 


238 


NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 


hand,  these  little  swarms  can  make  no  surplus  honey, 
the  chief  reason  for  which  bees  are  kept,  and  they  will 
not  be  likely  to  "swarm,"  which  is  an  interesting  thing, 
an  advantage  or  disadvantage  according  to  taste.  In  the 
large  hive  the  queen  will  be  busy  laying  eggs  in  the  inner 
frames  and  may  not  be  seen  from  one  year  to  another, 
honey  being  stored  usually  in  the  combs  next  to  the 
glass.  This  is  a  disadvantage ;  still  it  is  only  in  such  a 


T/4\ 


m 


FIG.  loo.    SECTIONAL  PLAN  OF  OBSERVATION  HIVE 

The  size  depends  on  size  of  brood  frame.     The  bee  space  should  be  ^  in.  below, 
|  in.  at  ends,  and  £  in.  above 

large  hive  that  we  can  see  the  life  of  a  bee-city  in  its  full- 
ness, —  the  thousands  of  workers,  the  continuous  streams 
of  out-going  and  in-coming  bees,  —  and  thus  gain  some 
conception  of  the  great  work  they  perform. 

The  honeybee  is  not  native  to  this  continent.  It  was  imported 
from  Europe,  when  or  by  whom  is  not  known,  and  has  since  spread 
from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific.  Since  about  1860  the  United  States 
Department  of  Agriculture  has  been  engaged  in  searching  over  the 
greater  part  of  the  globe  to  find  and  introduce  the  best  races  of,  bees 


BENEFICIAL    INSECTS  239 


that  could  be  discovered,  so  that  we  now  have  four  varieties,  each 
excelling  in  certain  points. 

The  common  black  or  brown  or  German  bees  have  become  better 
acclimated  than  any  of  the  others,  and  during  their  200  years  of 
residence  have  become  the  common  wild  bees  of  the  whole  country. 
Their  faults  are :  bad  temper,  which  makes  them  hard  to  handle ; 
their  tendency  to  desert  their  combs  and  to  "  ball  up  "  so  that  it  is 
difficult  to  find  the  queen ;  and  their  failure  to  resist  the  attacks  of 
the  bee  moth.  This  is  a  most  serious  defect.  A  colony  of  black  bees 
left  a  season  without  being  looked  over  and  the  moths  removed  from 
time  to  time  is  likely  to  be  found  empty  of  bees  and  a  mass  of  ugly 
caterpillars,  moths,  webs,  and  cocoons.  The  bees  themselves  are 
fair  honey  gatherers,  make  white  comb  honey,  and  winter  well.  They 
are  medium-sized  and  dark  brown,  sometimes  almost  black,  in  color. 

The  Italian  bees,  imported  to  this  country  in  1860,  have  found 
greater  favor  with  bee  keepers  than  any  other  race.  They  are  large, 
beautiful  bees,  with  the  first  three  bands  of  the  abdomen  yellow  or 
leather  colored.  They  are  gentle,  can  be  handled  easily,  stick  to 
their  combs  so  well  that  the  frames  may  be  lifted  from  the  hive  and 
stood  up  about  the  yard,  while  the  bees  go  on  with  their  work  as  if 
nothing  had  happened.  On  this  account,  the  queen  may  easily  be 
found  at  anytime.  I  have  sometimes  seen  an  Italian  queen  continue 
laying  eggs  while  the  frame  she  was  on  was  taken  from  the  hive. 
Italian  bees  are  better  honey  gatherers  than  the  blacks,  cap  their 
honey  fairly  white,  and  resist  attacks  of  the  bee  moth,  so  that  for  this 
reason  alone,  where  this  pest  is  present,  it  would  pay  to  keep  only 
Italian  bees  ;  but  they  do  not  winter  quite  so  well  in  the  colder  sections 
of  this  country. 

Carniolans  are  large  ashy  gray  bees  with  silvery  white  hairs,  the 
gentlest  and  most  beautiful  of  all  races.  They  were  imported  from 
the  Alpine  province  of  Carniola,  Austria,  in  1884.  They  are  fair 
honey  gatherers  and  cap  their  honey  exceedingly  white.  How  they 
cope  with  the  bee  moth  is  not  stated  in  the  books.  The  Carniolans 
winter  better  than  any  other  strain  and  are  prolific,  but  they  have  the 
reputation  of  swarming  excessively.  This  is  their  greatest  disad- 
vantage, and  Frank  Benton  is  inclined  to  think  that  it  is  due  to  the 


240  NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 

warmth  of  our  summers,  and  that  consequently  the  hives  should  be 
well  protected  by  shade. 

Cyprians,  Holy  Lands,  or  Syrians  have  scored  the  highest  honey 
record  of  any  bees  ever  tested  in  this  country,  1000  pounds  from  a 
hive  in  a  single  season.  They  were  brought  from  Cyprus.  They 
are  a  small  bee,  slender  and  active,  with  the  first  three  bands  of  the 
abdomen  orange  above  and  all  the  segments  underneath  yellow,  often 
to  the  tip.  The  white  appearance  of  honey  is  chiefly  due  to  a  little 
harmless  deception  on  the  part  of  the  bees  that  make  it.  Instead  of 
filling  the  cells  full  they  leave  a  little  bubble  of  air  under  the  cap, 
and  this  looks  white  by  reflected  light.  The  Cyprian  bees  are  too 
honest  for  this  and  fill  the  cells  full  of  honey.  Their  pains,  however, 
gives  the  honey  a  dead,  "  watery "  look,  which  injures  its  selling 
quality.  It  is  said  that  they  never  molest  one  that  may  pass  their 
hives  or  be  working  among  them,  unless  a  hive  itself  be  directly  inter- 
fered with.  Then  they  are  the  fiercest  and  most  persistent  of  fighters. 
They  thus  protect  their  hives  better  than  any  other  race  from  robber 
bees,  bee  moths,  and  all  other  intruders,  but  this  character  has  ren- 
dered the  handling  of  them  so  disagreeable  that  their  culture  has  not 
made  much  progress  in  this  country. 

As  may  be  inferred  from  the  above,  the  effort  is  to  obtain  the  best 
variety  of  bee  in  the  world.  When  this  is  discovered,  the  stock  may 
be  still  further  improved  by  selection  and  breeding,  as  in  the  case 
of  other  domestic  animals  and  plants.  Just  now  the  attempt  is  being 
made  to  find  a  bee  whose  tongue  is  long  enough  to  reach  the  nectar 
in  the  red  clover.  If  any  child  can  find  a  honeybee  that  is  working 
on  red-clover  blossoms  and  can  discover  the  hive  to  which  it  belongs, 
he  may  help  along  this  work  and  possibly  make  a  name  and  a  fortune 
for  himself.  Both  the  farmer  and  the  bee  keeper  would  be  benefited. 
It  would  doubtless  make  possible  the  more  complete  cross-fertilization 
of  the  clover  and  give  the  farmer  more  and  better  seed  than  he  now 
gets  by  the  help  of  bumblebees.  The  bee  keeper  could  then  save 
the  barrels  of  nectar  that  now  go  to  waste  in  the  red-clover  blossoms. 

"  Lining "  bees  is  a  topic  that  may  well  be  studied  during  an 
excursion,  or  even  in  the  school  yard,  if  bees  can  be  found.  Take 
a  little  honey,  and  after  allowing  a  bee  to  fill  her  honey  sac  take  the 


BENEFICIAL    INSECTS 


241 


direction  of  her  flight.  She  will  make  a  bee  line  toward  the  hive, 
or  bee  tree,  from  which  she  came.  A  little  flour  dusted  over  the  bee 
will  make  it  easier  to  follow  her  flight.  In  this  way  bee  hunters 
locate  bee  trees  in  the  woods.  A  bee  line  is  obtained  at  one 
position  ;  the  hunter  then  moves  to  a  new  position  some  distance 
to  the  right  or  left  of  his  first  stand  and  gets  another  bee  line. 
The  bee  tree  will  be  found  where  the  two  lines  intersect.  In  tracing 
bees  from  red  clover,  if  they  can  find  any  such  there,  let  some  of  the 
class  dust  flour  on  the  bees  in  the  field  and  others  watch  at  the 
apiary  toward  which  they  fly  and  find  the  hive  to  which  the  floured 
bees  belong.  Follow  the  matter  up  by  finding  out  how  much  honey 
this  hive  makes  (it  may  be  one  or  two  hundred  pounds  more  than  any 
other  colony  in  the  neighborhood),  and  then  see  if  any  one  can  be 
found  who  has  a  microscope  and  can  measure  the  tongues  of  the  red- 
clover  bees,  comparing  them  with  the  tongues  of  bees  that  do  not 
work  on  red  clover.  Finally,  have  a  member,  or  committee,  of  the 
class  write  up  the  story  and  get  it  printed  in  the  local  paper  and  in 
some  bee  journal.  Possibly,  if  all  the  boys  and  girls  in  the  United 
States  keep  a  sharp  lookout  all  next  summer,  not  more  than  a  dozen 
will  find  honeybees  working  on  red  clover.  But  even  if  these  few 
were  discovered,  by  modern  methods  of  queen  rearing  we  might  have 
within  ten  or  fifteen  years,  the  long-tongued  bees  as  common  as 
ordinary  bees  are  now. 

COMPARATIVE  VALUE  OF  DIFFERENT  RACES  OF  BEES 

(Marked  on  a  scale  of  ten.     Estimates  of  FRANK  BENTON) 


RACE 

GENTLE- 

HONEY 
GATHER- 

RESIST- 
ANCE TO 

WINTER- 

PROLIFIC- 

SWARM- 

LENGTH 

OF 

NESS 

ING 

MOTH 

ING 

NESS 

ING 

TONGUE 

Black  .  . 

5 

5 

4 

8 

5 

6 

6 

Italian.  . 

8 

7 

8 

6 

7 

8 

8 

Carniolan 

IO 

8 

7 

10 

9 

IO 

8 

Cyprian  . 

7 

10 

IO 

7 

IO 

8 

IO 

Dorsata  . 

7 

8 

IO 

242  NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 

Besides  the  honeybee  there  are  about  five  thousand 
different  kinds  of  bees,  bumblebees  of  many  different 
kinds,  carpenter  bees,  digger  or  burrowing  bees,  potter 
bees,  and  cuckoo  bees,  all  having  most  interesting  habits 
and  instincts,  and  many  exceedingly  beautiful.  With  all 
our  native  bees  the  life  story  of  the  individuals  is  similar 
to  that  of  the  honeybee,  except  in  regard  to  the  food  of 
the  larvae,  which  may  be  leaves  or  insects ;  but  the  story 
of  the  colony  is  altogether  different.  Most  of  them  are 
"  solitary,"  and  those  that  have  social  habits  have  not 
developed  the  stability  and  perfection  of  organization 
found  in  the  hive  bee  and  among  the  ants. 

In  the  spring,  for  example,  there  are  no  colonies  of 
bumblebees,  and  the  few  we  see  about  early  spring 
flowers  are  solitary  queens  that  have  hibernated  in  some 
protected  shelter  during  the  winter.  They  collect  honey 
and  pollen  and  select  suitable  places  for  their  homes 
(commonly  deserted  mice  nests),  build  cells  and  lay  eggs 
in  them,  feed  the  young,  and  thus  continue  until  the 
larvae  begin  to  emerge.  The  first  bees  are  small  workers, 
and  they  soon  relieve  their  mother  of  the  labors  of  both 
field  and  nest.  Subsequent  broods  during  the  summer 
are  large  workers,  and  these  rapidly  increase  the  stores  of 
the  nest.  In  August  a  generation  of  queens  and  drones 
emerge,  and  these  soon  scatter  over  the  fields  and  leave 
the  nest  deserted.  The  workers  and  drones  die,  and  the 
queens  alone  survive  the  winter. 

Coville  succeeded  in  moving  bumblebee  nests  to  glass-covered 
boxes  in  his  window  arranged  essentially  like  the  beehives  above 
described.  He  did  this  by  chloroforming  the  bees  lightly  in  the 
evening,  when  they  were  all  at  home.  After  being  confined  for  a  day 


BENEFICIAL    INSECTS  243 

they  learned  their  new  location  and  accepted  it  without  difficulty. 
One  other  observer  has  told  me  of  catching  a  queen  bumblebee  early 
in  the  spring,  taming  her  by  feeding  with  honey,  and  inducing  her  to 
accept  a  nest  he  had  provided  in  a  large  bottle.  He  was  thus  able 
to  watch  the  colony  from  beginning  to  end. 

Bumblebees  are  valuable  insects,  aside  from  the  interest 
attaching  to  the  study  of  them,  from  the  work  they  per- 
form in  the  fertilization  of  flowers,  especially  red  clover. 
Greenhouse  men,  who  raise  melons,  cucumbers,  and  toma- 
toes under  glass,  are  obliged  to  keep  swarms  of  honeybees 
to  carry  the  pollen  from  flower  to  flower.  But  honeybees 
do  not  live  long  under  such  confinement  and  hence  must 
be  replaced  by  fresh  hives  perhaps  once  or  twice  a  year. 
It  has  been  suggested  that  bumblebees  might  do  this 
work  fully  as  well  at  little  or  no  expense.  To  try  the 
experiment  it  would  only  be  necessary  to  catch  a  few 
queens  as  late  in  the  fall  as  possible  and  confine  them 
in  the  greenhouse,  supplying  them  with  field-mice  nests. 
What  boy  will  try  this  plan  and  report  results  ? 

Other  near  relatives  of  the  honeybees  are  the  wasps  and 
hornets,  and  here  again  we  have  hundreds  of  different  spe- 
cies, some  social,  like  the  bumblebees,  and  many  solitary. 
Most  of  these  make  burrows  in  the  ground,  like  the  digger 
bees,  but  they  provide  as  food  for  their  young,  instead  of 
pollen  and  honey,  insects,  spiders,  etc.,  stung  with  such 
care  and  precision  that  they  are  paralyzed  but  not  killed. 
The  common  mud  wasp,  or  mud  dauber,  is  very  easily 
studied  and  will  serve,  if  time  permits,  to  initiate  the 
children  into  the  mysteries  of  this  fascinating  group.1 

1  George  W.  and  Elizabeth  G.  Peckham,  "  On  the  Instincts  and  Habits 
of  the  Solitary  Wasps, "  Bulletin  No,  2,  Wisconsin  Geological  and  Natural 


244  NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 

Among  the  social  wasps  the  white-faced  hornet  is  the 
one  to  study.  It  may  seem  strange  to  classify  this  arch- 
enemy of  our  boyhood,  whose  huge  paper  nests  have  been 
the  legitimate  targets  for  stones  and  later  for  rifle  and 
shotgun,  among  the  beneficial  insects.  But  Mrs.  Treat 
says  of  them  : 

Are  orchardists  and  gardeners  aware  of  the  untold  numbers  of 
noxious  insects  that  a  colony  of  White-faced  hornets  will  destroy  in 
a  season  ?  .  .  .  I  would  rather  have  a  colony  in  my  orchard  when 
infested  with  the  slug,  Selandria  cerasi,  than  ever  so  many  barrels 
of  London-purple.  In  the  summer  of  1886  I  found  these  hornets 
were  busy  from  morning  until  night  in  the  orchard,  taking  slugs  from 
the  leaves,  and  carrying  them  to  their  young,  where  their  nest  was 
suspended  in  one  of  the  trees.  Injurious  Insects  of  the  Farm  and 
Garden,  p.  288.  (On  the  other  side  it  should  be  stated  that  where 
grapes  or  peaches  are  raised  the  hornets  are  known  to  gnaw  holes  in 
the  fruit,  and  this  opens  the  way  for  honeybees  and  may  lead  to  great 
injury  to  the  crop.  It  thus  sometimes  becomes  necessary  to  destroy 
all  .the  hornets  in  the  neighborhood  before  the  fruit  begins  to  ripen, 
and  this  is  a  simple  matter,  since  the  nests  are  so  easily  found.) 

The  life  story  of  the  white-faced  hornet  resembles  that 
of  the  bumblebee.  The  queen  alone  lives  over  winter 
and  in  the  spring  makes  her  own  paper  and  begins  to 
build  the  nest  alone.  As  cells  are  made  she  lays  the  eggs 
in  them  and  feeds  the  larvae  on  finely  chewed  insects.  To 
see  the  tiny  maggot-like  larvae  stretch  themselves  almost 
out  of  their  cells  when  the  queen  mother  comes  with  food 
puts  one  in  mind  of  nestling  birds,  only  it  seems  more 

History  Survey.  Of  this  Howard  says  (Insect  Book,  p.  18)  :  "  No  more 
readable  book  on  a  natural  history  topic  was  ever  prepared,  not  even 
excepting  the  famous  Natural  History  of  Selbourne  or  the  general  volume 
of  Kirby  and  Spence's  Introduction." 


BENEFICIAL    INSECTS 


245 


wonderful.  The  first  brood  consists  of  small-sized  workers, 
and,  as  these  take  up  the  labors  of  nest-building  and 
food-bringing,  larger  workers  are  produced.  Finally, 
in  the  early  autumn  a  generation  of  males  and  females  is 
produced,  and  the  queens  hibernate,  to  repeat  the  story 
the  following  year.  The  queens  often  crawl  into  attics  to 
spend  the  winter,  and  a  few  are  sometimes  found  in  the 
old  nests.  A  queen  might  be  taken  in  the  fall  or  early  in 
the  spring,  and  if  provided  with  paper  pulp,  honey,  and 
abundance  of  insect  food,  she  would  quite  probably  build  a 
nest  and  afford  a  most  instructive  demonstration  of  insect 
life.  The  white-faced  hornet  is  especially  interesting 
from  the  fact  that  the  suggestion  for  making  paper  from 
wood  pulp,  which  is  now  such  an  extensive  industry,  was 
probably  obtained  directly  from  its  wonderful  nest. 

The  specimen  figured  below,  from  which  one  side  has 
been  cut  to  show  internal  arrangement,  was  built  by  the 
queen  before  any  of  her  brood  had  come  to  her  aid. 


CHAPTER    XV 


INSECTS   BENEFICIAL   AND   BEAUTIFUL 

^Ichneumon  Flies.  —  The  insect  photographed  in  Fig.  101 
is  drilling  into  hard  maple  wood  for  the  purpose  of  laying 

an  egg  in  the  burrow 
of  a  wood-boring  larva 
How  long  she  had  been 
there  before  I  found 
her  it  is  impossible  to 
state,  but  for  more 
than  two  hours  she 
worked,  inserting  and 
partially  withdrawing 
her  drill  repeatedly, 
until  it  had  penetrated 
nearly  two  inches  into 
the  hard  wood.  At 
last  she  withdrew  the 
drill,  apparently  satis- 
fied, and  flew  away, 
to  save  more  maple 
trees  from  borers,  I 
hope,  for,  after  seeing 
her  good  works  I  had 
not  the  heart  to  put  her  in  the  cyanide  bottle.  It  was 
wonderful  to  see  another,  that  came  to  the  same  tree  while 

246 


FIG.  101.     ICHNEUMON  FLY  BORING 

INTO  A  TREE 
(About  |  natural  size) 


INSECTS    BENEFICIAL  AND   BEAUTIFUL         247 

I  was  watching,  hunt  over  the  surface  inch  by  inch  for 
a  likely  place  to  drill ;  but,  after  about  an  hour's  search, 
she  flew  away.  Certainly  nothing  I  have  ever  observed 
has  so  impressed  upon  my  mind  the  marvelous  perfection 
of  Nature's  mechanisms  and  the  completeness  with  which 
every  darkest  nook  and  corner  of  her  domain  is  guarded. 
A  horntail,  Tremex,  bores  deep  into  the  tree  and  deposits 
her  egg.  Who  would  think  that  any  harm  could  reach  it 
there?  But  the  ichneumon  fly  is  armed  and  equipped  for 


FIG.  102.     BLACK  THALESSA 
d,  drill ;  ov,  ovipositor.       (-&  natural  size) 

her  task.  Her  egg  hatches  in  the  burrow  of  the  Tremex, 
the  young  ichneumon  finds  the  wood-boring  larva,  lives  as 
a  parasite  upon  it,  and,  finally,  after  completing  its  trans- 
formations, emerges  as  the  ichneumon  fly  in  the  picture. 

There  are  more  than  a  thousand  genera  of  ichneumon 
flies,  with,  of  course,  a  great  many  more  species,  and  if 
the  Tremex  larva  is  not  safe  in  the  heart  of  a  maple  tree, 
what  must  be  the  fate  of  the  thousands  of  larvae  that  feed 


248  NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 

unprotected  on  the  leaves  of  plants  ?  The  truth  is  that 
nearly  all  of  them  have  one  or  more  species  of  ichneumon 
fly  ever  seeking  a  victim  in  which  to  deposit  her  eggs. 
So  we  shall  find  with  nearly  every  species  of  larva  we 
attempt  to  rear  that  one  of  these  parasitic  flies  has  come 
before  us,  and  instead  of  the  moth  or  butterfly  we  expected, 
we  get  the  brood  of  parasites.  If  we  are  intent  on  secur- 
ing butterflies  and  moths,  this  is  sometimes  annoying; 
but  if  we  are  studying  insect  life  in  the  large,  we  are 
thus  often  rewarded  with  a  glimpse  of  one  of  its  most 
interesting  and  important  phases. 

Simply  ichneumons  or,  if  that  is  not  sufficient,  ichneu- 
mon wasps  would  be  a  better  term  by  which  to  designate 
this  group,  since  they  resemble  wasps  much  more  than 
they  do  flies  ;  but  they  are  described  in  all  the  books  as 
"ichneumon  flies,"  and  to  change  the  name  will  take  a 
long  time.  Ichneumons  are  generally  large  or  good-sized 
parasitic  insects,  but  some  are  minute.  They  have  four 
wings,  like  the  bees  and  wasps,  long,  incessantly  vibrating 
antennae,  and  their  prevailing  color  is  dull  yellow,  though 
many  are  black,  marked  with  yellow.  Our  largest  species 
is  the  beautiful  Thalessa  atrata,  which  from  the  tip  of 
the  antennae  to  the  end  of  the  ovipositor  measures 
nearly  ten  inches.  It  is  parasitic  on  the  larva  of  the 
pigeon  horntail,  Tremex  columba,  a  common  borer  in  elms, 
oaks,  buttonwoods,  and  maples.  Pimpla  inquisitor,  one 
of  the  commonest  and  most  widely  distributed,  ranging 
from  Massachusetts  to  California,  is  parasitic  on  a  number 
of  caterpillars.  The  body  is  about  half  an  inch  long,  shin- 
ing black.  The  pupils  are  pretty  certain  to  find  it  in 
connection  with  their  studies  on  the  tent  caterpillars  and 


INSECTS    BENEFICIAL  AND   BEAUTIFUL          249 

the  white-marked  tussock  moth.  A  favorite  time  for  the 
Pimpla  to  sting  her  victim  is  while  the  caterpillar  is  spin- 
ning its  cocoon ;  and  if  a  number  in  this  stage  are  placed 
in  an  open  window  in  the  schoolroom,  it  is  quite  possible 
that  a  Pimpla  may  come  and  show  how  she  does  her  work. 
The  eggs  of  the  Pimpla  hatch  into  whitish  larvae,  which 
feed  actively  and  attain  their  growth  in  about  four  days. 


FIG.  103.     TOMATO  SPHINX  LARVA 
With  parasites  emerging ;  268  are  out  or  in  sight.     (Natural  size) 

They  then  spin  slender  yellowish-brown  cocoons,  transform 
into  pupae,  and  emerge  in  about  ten  days  as  adult  ichneu- 
mons ;  so  that  the  whole  life  story  from  egg  around  to  egg 
may  not  require  more  than  fifteen  days  to  be  completed. 

Until  recently  all  the  four-winged  parasitic  insects  were 
called  ichneumon  flies.  Now  the  group  has  been  much 
subdivided  ;  but  since  the  distinctions  upon  which  these 
divisions  have  been  made  are  mostly  minute  and  technical, 
we  may  leave  them  to  specialists.  It  will  be  sufficient, 
for  elementary  work,  if  we  gain  some  clear  ideas  of  the 
r61e  that  parasitic  insects  play  in  nature. 


250  NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 

The  smaller  ichneumons  (of  course  there  are  distinc- 
tions other  than  size)  are  now  called  "braconids,"  and  the 
smallest,  many  of  them  not  more  than  one  one-hundredth 
of  an  inch  in  length,  have  been  set  apart  by  themselves  as 
the  Chalcis  flies. 

The  Braconids.  —  One  of  the  commonest  braconids  is 
parasitic  on  the  tomato  sphinx.  Others  are  found  on  the 
grape  sphinx  and  the  cabbage  worms.  Little  bunches  of 
white  or  yellow  cocoons,  often  found  attached  to  grasses 
and  weeds,  if  preserved  in  a  bottle  covered  with  gauze, 
will  be  found  to  contain  insects  of  this  family. 

. ,        One  of  the  most 

interesting  of  these 
little  parasites  for 
the  children  to  study 
belongs  to  the  genus 

FIG.  104.     PARASITIZED  PLANT  LICE  Aphidius,   SO   named 

(Photograph  by  the  author)  .  1-1 

from  its  work  with 

the  plant  lice.  If  colonies  of  aphids  are  examined  late 
in  the  season,  from  July  to  October,  many  will  be  found 
lighter  colored  than  the  rest  and  much  swollen.  Often 
an  artichoke  leaf  or  a  spray  of  yellow  dock  will  have  a 
dozen  or  more  such  specimens.  Keep  a  number  in  a  glass 
covered  with  gauze,  and  within  a  few  days  you  will  find 
neat  little  trapdoors  cut  in  the  backs  of  the  aphids  and 
the  minute  parasites  flying  about  in  the  glass.  Let  them 
have  golden-rod  or  asters  and  a  fresh  supply  of  plant  lice 
in  a  window  or  large  gauze  cage  and  see  who  can  observe 
them  laying  their  eggs.  Another  similar  parasite  of  the 
aphids  emerges  from  the  plant  louse  when  it  reaches 
maturity  and  spins  a  flat  cocoon,  using  the  shell  of  its 


INSECTS    BENEFICIAL   AND    BEAUTIFUL         251 

late  victim  as  a  roof.      Some   of  these  will  probably  be 
found  during  the  search  for  plant  lice. 

The  Chalcis  Flies.  —  These  are  the  smallest  of  the  parasitic 
Hymenoptera.  They  are  generally  black  with  metallic 
luster,  but  a  few  are  yellow.  Slingerland  writes  of  one 
of  them  : 

It  would  seem  that  the  codling-moth's  egg,  not  quite  so  large  as 
a  common  pin's  head,  would  escape  the  eye  of  the  enemy,  but  many 
of  them  do  not.  In  June,  1896,  we  were  surprised  to  find  that  quite 
a  number  of  the  eggs  we  saw  had  a  peculiar  black  appearance. 
These  were  placed  in  cages,  and  a  few  days  later  the  mystery  was 
explained.  For  instead  of  little  apple-worms  hatching  from  them, 
there  appeared  fully  developed  adult  insects,  the  surprising  number 
of  four  coming  from  a  single  tiny  egg  in  some  cases.  It  is  wonder- 
ful to  think  of  four  perfect  animals  having  been  born  in,  and  having 
obtained  sufficient  sustenance  to  develop  into  perfect  insects  from 
the  contents  of  such  a  tiny  thing  as  the  egg  of  a  codling-moth.  In 
figure  138  is  shown  a  greatly  enlarged  picture  of  this  pretty  little 
parasite,  which  is  of  course  an  exceeding  small  creature,  yet  it  is 
easily  visible  to  the  naked  eye.1 

Many  of  the  Chalcis  flies  are  parasitic  on  the  scales 
and  on  the  eggs  of  other  insects.  To  keep  watch  for 
them  will  add  interest  to  many  of  our  lessons. 

The  Syrphus  and  Tachina  Flies.  —  Though  related  to  the 
ichneumons  only  by  their  parasitic  habits,  these  may  be 
considered  in  this  connection.  Both  belong  to  the  fly 
family  proper,  since  they  have  but  a  single  pair  of  wings. 

The  syrphus  flies  are  the  ones  we  all  have  wondered 
about  from  our  infancy.  They  are  par  excellence  the 
flies  of  bright  sunshine  and  flowers,  where  they  disport 

!M.  V.  Slingerland.  "The  Codling-Moth,"  Bulletin  142,  Cornell 
University  Agricultural  Experiment  Station,  1898,  p.  37. 


252 


NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 


FIG.  105.     A  SYRPHUS  FLY 
(Enlarged  about  one-half) 


their  gorgeous  colors.  Some  appear  to  be  always  on  the 
wing,  while  others  may  be  seen  resting  lightly  on  flowers, 
especially  of  Helianthus,  golden-rod,  and  asters  in  the  early 

autumn.    The  fact  that  renders 
a  study  of  this  family  important 
r  MM    >  is  that  the  maggots,  or  larvae, 

^^B  of  many  of  them  feed  upon  plant 

lice  and  other  small,  soft-bodied 
F  *  insects.    In  collecting  plant  lice, 

especially  such  as  cause  great 
deformity  of  the  leaves,  as  in 
case  of  the  currant,  elm,  and 
snowball,  keep  a  sharp  lookout  for  slender  maggots  within 
the  gall-like  cavities,  and  do  not  mistake  them  for  the 
insects  that  do  the  harm.  Preserve  them  in  the  vivarium, 
supply  with  aphids,  and  watch  them  as  they  transform, 
first  into  hardened  pupa  cases,  and  finally  into  adult 
syrphus  flies. 

The  syrphus  flies  whose  larvae  are  not  predaceous  feed 
on  wet,  decaying  wood,  manure,  and 
mud,  or  live  in  filthy  water.  Their 
larvae  are  the  .curious  "rat-tailed 
maggots"  that  the  children  are  sure 
to  bring  in  with  the  question  :  What  iri«-  i°6. 
is  that  ?  Keep  the  larvae  with  appro- 
priate food  and  surroundings,  and  they 
will  soon  answer  the  question  them- 
selves. More  than  three  hundred  different  species  of 
syrphus  flies  have  been  described  in  the  books.  Many 
of  them  mimic  other  insects,  especially  bees,  wasps,  and 
bumblebees. 


RAT-TAILED 
MAGGOT  OF  AQUATIC 
SYRPHUS  FLY 
(After  Riley) 


INSECTS    BENEFICIAL   AND    BEAUTIFUL 


253 


The  tachina  flies  are  another  numerous  family  of 
extremely  beneficial  insects.  They  are  large  to  medium- 
sized  flies  and  resemble  the  house  fly  in  form  and  general 
appearance.  They  are  the  stout,  bristly  flies  that  we  see 
so  often  on  sunny  days  about  rank  vegetation.  Their 
larvae  are  all  parasitic  on  other  insects,  chiefly  on  the 
injurious  leaf-eating  caterpillars.  While  an  ichneumon 
commonly  attacks  only  a  single  species  or  its  near  rela- 
tions, the  tachina  flies  present  the  advantage  of  working 
upon  almost  any  in- 
sect that  may  be 
numerous.  Thus  a 
tachina  fly  will  lay 
her  eggs  on  a  cater- 
pillar, if  she  can  find 
one.  If  not,  she 
may  lay  them  on 
grasshoppers,  bugs, 
beetles,  sawflies,  or 
even  bumblebees. 

The  white,  oval  eggs  are  glued  to  the  body  of  an  insect  as 
though  they  were  a  part  of  its  own  skin.  The  little  maggots 
on  hatching  burrow  into  their  victim  and  feed  upon  its  tis- 
sues and  juices.  Growth  is  rapid  and  after  its  attainment  the 
little  plunderers  are  said  to  murder  their  host  by  destroying 
a  vital  organ,  after  which  they  work  their  way  out.  Unlike 
the  ichneumons  the  tachina  larvae  spin  no  cocoons,  but 
instead  the  outer  skin  hardens  into  an  oval  case,  the  pupa 
case,  or  puparium  ;  within  this  the  larvae  change  into  pupae, 
and  in  about  ten  days  we  may  expect  to  see  them  emerge 
as  adult  flies.  There  may  be  several  generations  a  year. 


FIG.  107.     TACHINA  FLY 

Eggs  on  a  caterpillar,  larva,  adult,  and  pupa ;  size 
a  little  larger  than  a  house  fly 


254 


NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 


By  far  the  favorite  hosts  of  these  flies  are  the  leaf-eating  cater- 
pillars and  the  numbers  destroyed  in  a  single  season  by  these  para- 
sites is  quite  beyond  computation.  I  have  seen  vast  armies  of  the 
army-worm,  comprising  unquestionably  millions  of  individuals,  and 
have  been  unable  to  find  a  single  specimen  which  did  not  bear  the 
characteristic  eggs  of  a  tachina  fly.  These  flies  were  present  in  such 
numbers  that  their  buzzing,  as  they  flew  over  the  army  of  caterpillars, 
could  be  heard  at  some  distance  and  the  farmers  were  unnecessarily 
alarmed  since  they  conceived  the  idea  that  the  flies  were  the  parents 
of  the  caterpillars  and  were  flying  everywhere  and  laying  their  eggs 
in  the  grass  and  wheat.  As  a 
matter  of  fact,  one  great  outbreak 
of  the  army-worm  in  northern 
Alabama,  in  the  early  summer  of 
1 88 1,  was  completely  frustrated 
by  the  tachina  flies,  aided  by  a 
few  other  parasites  and  predatory 
insects.  L.  O.  HOWARD,  The 
Insect  Book,  p.  158. 


FIG.  1 08. 
LADY  BEETLES 


Larva,  pupae,  and 
adults  of  several 
species 


Valuable  shade  trees  are 
sometimes  cut  because  they 
are  infested  with  caterpillars  for  two  or 
three  years  in  succession.  Of  course 
trees  may  be  killed  by  being  stripped  of  their  leaves 
repeatedly ;  but  frequently  the  year  after  the  pests  seem 
to  have  become  unendurable  there  may  be  scarcely  one 
in  the  whole  neighborhood,  all  but  a  few  having  been 
killed  by  increase  of  their  natural  enemies. 

Lady  Beetles,  Ladybirds,  or  Ladybugs.  —  These  insects  are 
too  familiar  to  require  description.  We  may  bring  one  to 
class  in  a  vial  and  let  the  children  learn  their  next  day's 
nature-study  lesson  by  observing  what  the  lady  beetles 
are  doing.  A  branch  of  apple  or  cherry  covered  with 


INSECTS    BENEFICIAL  AND    BEAUTIFUL         255 

aphids  in  June  will  be  likely  to  show  lady  beetles  in  all 
stages ;  the  yellow  eggs  in  clusters,  often  in  the  midst  of 
a  swarm  of  aphids  ;  the  alligator-shaped  larvae,  black  with 
red  or  yellow  spots  and  covered  with  warts  or  spines ;  the 
angular  pupae  suspended  from  the  leaves  or  twigs  by  their 
tails  ;  and  the  adult  beetles.  Both  larvae  and  adults  spend 
a  large  part  of  the  time  devouring  plant  lice,  scales,  and 
the  eggs  and  young  larvae  of  other  insects. 

Lady  beetles  often  come  into  houses  to  pass  the  winter, 
and  their  presence  may  well  be  encouraged,  as  it  would 
seem  that  they  might  be  the  best  protectors  of  the  win- 
dow garden  against  plant  lice  and  scale  insects.  I  have 
not  been  able  to  find  any  account,  however,  in  which  it 
is  stated  that  they  have  been  successfully  kept  alive 
and  feeding  during  the  entire  winter,  but  this  might 
prove  a  valuable  line  of  experiment.1 

Lion  Beetles.  —  Among  the  beetles  there  are  a  number 
of  other  carnivorous  species  that  are  of  great  service  in 
our  gardens.  If  any  of  these  or  their  larvae  can  be  found, 
instructive  feeding  tests  may  be  made. 

The  lion  beetle,  Calosoma  scrutator,  is  our  most  beauti- 
ful species.  It  is  somewhat  over  one  inch  in  length,  the 
wing  covers  are  bright  golden  green,  and  the  body  is 
marked  with  blue,  gold,  green,  and  copper.  This  beetle 

1  Professor  Weed  has  described  finding  "  balls "  of  hibernating  lady 
beetles  containing  as  much  as  a  quart.  He  stated  that  they  occurred 
about  the  borders  of  woods  under  piles  of  leaves  and  brush.  One 
other  observer  has  reported  to  me  a  similar  find  in  a  hollow  stump.  We 
ought  to  learn  more  of  this,  and  if  such  a  ball  could  be  captured  and 
the  beetles  be  distributed  among  the  cherry,  peach,  and  plum  trees  of  a 
neighborhood,  they  might  nip  many  a  serious  outbreak  of  plant  lice  in 
the  bud. 


256  NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 

hunts  over  trees  in  search  of  caterpillars.  It  has  also 
been  described  as  climbing  cornstalks,  stopping  appar- 
ently to  listen  at  the  tip  of  the  ear,  and  if  a  corn  worm 
is  within,  it  speedily  drags  it  out  and  devours  it. 

Calosoma  calidum  is  another  lion  beetle,  a  little  smaller 
than  the  above,  shining  black,  with  three  rows  of  copper- 
colored  pits  down  each  wing  cover.  This  is  chiefly  noc- 
turnal and  is  said  to  feed  largely  on  cutworms.  The  larvae 
of  both  the  Calosomas  are  flat,  fish-shaped  creatures,  some- 
times two  inches  long,  with  somewhat  the  appearance  of 
having  pincers  at  both  ends.  They  are  fierce  hunters  after 
caterpillars,  climbing  trees  and  often  burrowing  in  the 
ground  after  cutworms.  They  may  be  found  in  the  daytime 
generally  under  boards,  stones,  or  heaps  of  leaves  and  rubbish. 

The  Tiger  Beetles,  Cicindelidce .  —  These  are  described 
both  in  appearance  and  in  character  by  their  common 
name.  They  are  the  lively  beetles  that  we  have  all  seen 
in  dusty  roads,  which  fly  up  as  we  approach  and  always 
alight  with  head  toward  us.  Their  color  is  usually  green 
or  bronze,  spotted  and  banded  with  yellow,  but  some  are 
sand  colored.  Their  larvae  are  ugly  but  very  interesting 
creatures.  They  live  in  vertical  burrows,  often  a  foot 
deep.  The  flattened  dirt-colored  head  with  its  jaws  wide 
open  fills  and  conceals  the  opening,  and  unsuspecting 
insects,  as  they  walk  over,  are  seized,  dragged  down  to  the 
bottom,  and  there  devoured. 

The   Bombardier    Beetles.  —  There    is    certainly    nothing 
more  startling  and  comical  than  one  of  these  insects - 
"a  regular  sharp-shooter,  blue  uniform  and  all."1     They 

1  Gibson,  Sharp  Eyes,  p.  73,  gives  an  amusing  account  of  a  bombardier 
beetle. 


INSECTS    BENEFICIAL   AND   BEAUTIFUL         257 

are  ground  beetles  and  may  be  found  by  turning  up  flat 
stones  in  pastures.  The  head  and  legs  are  reddish  yellow, 
and  the  wing  covers  are  commonly  blue,  sometimes  black. 
If  any  of  the  children  succeed  in  finding  one,  it  should  be 
made  at  home  under  a  stone  in  a  vivarium,  well  fed  with 
insects,  and  experimented  with  as  occasion  offers.  It 
would  be  interesting  to  know  how  a  toad  might  fare  with 
a  bombardier. 

There  are  many  other  common  carabids,  or  ground 
beetles,  whose  strong  jaws  mark  them  as  carnivorous  spe- 
cies. It  will  be  well  not  to  try  to  keep  any  such  beetle 
with  other  insects  that  we  may  wish  to  rear  or  preserve. 

Dragon  Flies.  —  These  may  be  classed  among  beneficial 
insects  as  long  as  there  are  mosquitoes,  gnats,  and  flies  to 
be  destroyed.  They  are  the  swallows  among  insects,  cap- 
turing and  eating  a  great  variety,  especially  of  the  smaller 
insects,  on  the  wing.  But  long  after  flies  and  mosquitoes 
cease  from  troubling  we  shall  need  dragon  flies,  that  we 
may  enjoy  their  beauty  and  that  each  year  we  may  watch  a 
few  crawl  out  of  the  water  and  change  to  fairies.  The  eggs 
are  laid  in  or  on  the  water,  often  on  the  stems  of  water 
plants.  Sometimes  the  female  crawls  down  a  stem  and 
under  the  surface  to  lay  her  eggs.  The  larvae  are  active, 
predaceous  creatures,  feeding  on  aquatic  insects,  young 
fishes,  and  tadpoles,  from  the  time  of  hatching  until  they 
leave  the  water  to  transform.  In  the  last  stage,  before 
emerging  from  the  water,  they  are  known  as  "  nymphs  "  ; 
and  this  takes  the  place  of  the  quiescent  pupa,  or  chrysalis 
stage,  of  other  insects. 

Damsel  Flies.  —  In  habits  and  appearance  damsel  flies 
resemble  dragon  flies,  but  they  are  smaller,  and  the  wings, 


258  NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 

instead  of  remaining  spread  out,  are  folded  over  the  back 
while  at  rest.  They  are  the  delicate,  shimmering,  scintil- 
lating insects  that  we  so  often  see  flitting  and  darting 
about  the  borders  of  ponds  and  streams.  The  larvae  are 
aquatic,  and  the  life  story  in  general  is  like  that  of  the 
dragon  flies.  The  French  call  them  demoiselles. 

Caddis  Flies.  —  "  Will  you  please  tell  us  what  these  things 
are  ?  Teacher  does  n't  know  nor  any  one  else  in  our 
school.  They  are  alive."  The  speaker  was  one  of  a  half- 
dozen  boys ;  he  had  a  tin  can  in  one  hand  and  held  out 
some  small  objects  in  the  other.  "Those  are  caddis  fly 
worms,"  I  answered.  "What  do  they  eat?"  was  his  next 
question.  I  told  him  that  they  fed  upon  water  plants, 
and  said  that  if  they  would  keep  them  in  an  aquarium  with 
plenty  of  plants,  they  might  see  one  pop  out  of  the  water 
and  change  like  a  flash  into  a  four-winged  fly.1 

More  than  150  different  kinds  of  caddis  flies  have 
been  described  for  North  America.  Most  of  them  are 
vegetable  feeders  and  build  cases  of  tough  silk,  with 
all  sorts  of  materials,  —  grains  of  sand,  small  stones,  bits 
of  wood,  pine  needles,  snail  shells,  etc.,  —  woven  into  their 
walls;  so  that  their  occupants  are  pretty  well  protected 
from  predaceous  insects  and  even  from  fishes.  Generally 
the  case  is  free,  and  the  larva  drags  it  about  as  it  seeks  its 
food.  In  swiftly  flowing  streams,  however,  the  cases  are 
often  fastened  to  the  rocks.  In  one  family  of  caddis  flies 
the  larvae  are  carnivorous,  and  these  construct  funnel- 
shaped  silken  nets  attached  to  stones,  the  small  end  of  the 

1  I  learned  that  the  boys  had  "  fixed  up  "  one  of  the  chicken  coops  in 
the  neighborhood  into  what  they  called  their  "laboratory"  and  were  spend- 
ing their  summer  vacation  "  studying  insects  and  all  kinds  of  things." 


INSECTS   BENEFICIAL   AND   BEAUTIFUL 


259 


funnel  tapering  down  to  the  opening  of  the  case.  Howard 
speaks  of  finding  166  of  these  nets  on  a  rock  about 
eighteen  inches  in  diameter. 

The  larvae  of  dragon  flies,  damsel,  and  caddis  flies  may 
best    be   collected    in    May  or  June    by  raking  out  the 


FIG.  109.    MALE  CECROPIA  AND  COCOON.    LOWLAND  FORM 
(|  natural  size.     From  photograph  by  the  author) 

leaves  and  bunches  of  grass  from  the  bottom  of  pools  and 
streams.  They  may  then  be  kept  in  the  school  aquaria,  and 
the  feeding  and  final  transformations  be  easily  observed. 
An  excursion  to  some  pond  in  June,  when  the  dragon  and 


260 


NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 


damsel  flies  are  emerging, — when  we  can  let  the  nymphs 
crawl  up  on  our  hands  and  see  them  transfigured  in  the 
bright  sunshine,  —  will  give  us  glimpses  of  nature  that 
cannot  be  forgotten,  and  will  make  nature  lovers  of 
us  all. 

Butterflies  and  Moths.  —  In  advocating  the  possession  of 
insect  nets  by  the  children  I  have  had  in  mind  chiefly  the 
collection  of  injurious  insects,  not  the  extermination  of  our 
butterflies.  As  with  roadside  flowers,  our  nature-study  les- 
sons with  butterflies  may 
well  be  protective  rather 
than  destructive.  Even  in 
connection  with  the  col- 
lection of  cocoons  and 
chrysalids,  I  prefer  to 
store  them  in  a  cold  out- 
building and  bring  them 
into  the  schoolroom  only 
after  furnace  fires  are  ex- 
tinguished in  the  spring, 
so  that  they  may  emerge 
in  their  normal  season ; 

and  then,  after  we  have  seen  them  emerge  and,  perhaps, 
fed  them  a  few  times  with  honey,  let  them  go,  to  keep  the 
world  as  full  of  butterflies  as  possible.  Mrs.  Brightwen 1 
in  this  way  tamed  the  butterflies  about  her  home  so  that 
they  would  follow  her  about  and  alight  upon  her  hands  to 
be  fed.  Is  not  this  a  better  ideal,  especially  for  young 
children,  than  the  collection  of  dead  specimens  ?  And, 
furthermore,  if  we  follow  it,  we  shall  be  able  to  study 

1  Wild  Nature  won  by  Kindness. 


FIG.  no.    CECROPIA  LARVA  ASLEEP 
(Length  3  inches.     Photograph  from  life) 


INSECTS    BENEFICIAL  AND   BEAUTIFUL         261 

their  lives,  habits,  and  instincts  in  a  way  that  the  older 
methods  cannot  approach.  I  shall  never  forget  with  what 
a  growing  sense  of  wonder  I  first  watched  a  parsnip  but- 
terfly as  she  laid  her  eggs.  It  was  before  I  had  read 
Gibson's  description  of  butterflies  as  botanists.  There 
were  long,  straight  rows  of  vegetables  the  length  of  the 
garden,  —  one  of  carrots  and,  several  rows  removed,  one 
of  parsnips.  The  plants  had  just  put  forth  the  third  leaf, 
and  it  was  about  all  I  could  do  to  distinguish  them  from 
the  numerous  weeds ;  but  that  little  creature,  for  nearly 
an  hour,  unerringly  laid  her  eggs  either  on  the  carrots  or 
the  parsnips.  I  have  often  thought  that  I  never  learned 
so  much  from  all  the  collections  of  insects,  including  my 
own,  as  I  did  from  that  living  butterfly.  It  was  a  reve- 
lation to  me. 

Still  there  is  much  to  be  said  on  the  other  side.  Col- 
lections of  butterflies  are  different  from  collections  of 
birds.  A  mounted  butterfly  may  retain  its  natural  beauty 
to  a  greater  degree.  Butterflies  are  not  intrinsically  so 
valuable  as  birds  for  the  work  they  do  in  nature.  Most 
of  them  at  best  are  but  creatures  of  a  fr.w  days,  and  we 
may  thus  prolong  their  beauty  by  preser  /ing  them.  On 
the  whole,  if  it  is  done  with  care,  and  if  the  specimens 
are  used  as  a  means  by  which  to  stimulate  study  of  the 
life  and  work  of  the  species  rather  than  as  an  end  in 
themselves,  I  should  encourage  butterfly  collections  both 
in  the  school  cabinet  and  on  the  part  of  the  children 
who  wish  to  make  them.  In  doing  the  collecting,  how- 
ever, it  is  a  good  rule  to  examine  all  specimens  before  kill- 
ing them  and  to  let  all  the  imperfect  ones  go.  There  are 
so  few  perfect  specimens  that  the  species  will  suffer  but 


262  NATURE    STUDY   AND    LIFE 

little,  and  the  children  will  have  the  more  exercise  in 
the  fresh  air. 

Few  species  of  butterflies  do  enough  harm  to  require 
attention  on  that  account.  The  mourning  cloak,  Euvanessa 
antiopa,  occasionally  does  some  damage  to  shade  trees, 
elms,  willows,  and  poplars ;  and  this  is  about  the  only 
species  that  lays  its  eggs  in  clusters  and  the  caterpillars 
of  which  feed  close  together  so  that  their  depredations  are 
conspicuous.  Of  the  entire  group  the  cabbage  butterflies, 
—  Pieris  napi,  protodice  and,  especially,  rapcz,  —  are  the 
only  serious  pests.  These  are  our  commonest  species, 
unfortunately.  The  larvae  are  the  slender  green  caterpil- 
lars so  numerous  on  cabbage,  cauliflower,  other  Cruciferae, 
and  also  on  nasturtiums.  Where  any  of  these  plants 
occur  we  are  sure  to  find,  on  any  warm  day  between  May 
and  October,  one  or  more  of  these  white  butterflies  laying 
her  eggs.1 

Space  does  not  permit  more  than  the  mention  of  the 
names  of  some  of  our  commonest  and  more  conspicuous 

1  The  story  of  the  accidental  introduction  and  spread  of  what  is  now 
the  common  cabbage  butterfly  (P.  rapes)  is  of  interest  as  showing  the 
importance  of  such  apparently  trifling  things.  It  was  brought  from  Eng- 
land to  Quebec  about  1860,  probably  in  ship's  supplies  or  in  imported 
cabbages.  In  three  years  it  had  spread  over  an  area  about  sixty  miles  in 
diameter;  by  1871  it  covered  eastern  Canada  and  the  New  England  states ; 
ten  years  later  it  was  common  over  the  eastern  half  of  the  continent  from 
Hudson  Bay  to  Texas ;  and  for  some  years  now  it  has  had  possession  of  every 
cabbage  patch  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific.  In  this  rapid  conquest  of 
the  continent  our  native  species  of  the  same  genus,  which  feed  on  the 
same  plants,  have  been  almost  exterminated  in  many  regions  where  they 
were  once  numerous.  The  writer  has  counted  over  five  hundred  ovules  in 
the  ovaries  of  a  newly  emerged  cabbage  butterfly.  There  are  three  broods 
a  year  in  the  North  and  more  in  the  South ;  hence  a  new  insect  without 
natural  enemies  practically  owns  the  earth. 


INSECTS   BENEFICIAL  AND   BEAUTIFUL        263 

species ;  and,  while  tables  have  certain  disadvantages,  it 
is  hoped  that  the  following  table  will  answer  more  of  the 
questions  that  arise  as  butterflies  and  their  caterpillars 
are  brought  into  the  schoolroom,  than  could  be  disposed 
of  in  any  other  way.  These  tables  are  the  more  interest- 
ing because  they  represent  the  work,  ingenuity,  and  obser- 
vation of  a  schoolboy  aged  fifteen,  Master  W.  T.  M.  Forbes. 
The  species  given  have  been  collected,  and  in  many  cases 
their  larvae  reared,  by  this  enthusiastic  young  naturalist. 


264 


NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 
BUTTERFLIES 


Name 

Prominent  Colors  and  Markings 

Wing 
Expanse 
in  Inches 

Fre- 
quency 

Giant     Fritillary,     Argynnis 

Orange  brown,  black  checkered, 

3-4 

C. 

cybele 

silver  below 

Aphrodite,  Argynnis   aphro- 

Orange brown,  black  checkered, 

a*-3l 

R.  C. 

dite 

silver  below 

Little     Silverspot,     Brenthis 

Orange  brown,  black  checkered, 

;«.!l,/.  if 

C. 

myrina 

silver  below 

Marsh  Fritillary,  Brenthis  bel- 

Orange  brown,  no  silver 

ii 

C. 

lona 

Baltimore,  Melitcea  phaeton 

Orange,  black,  and  yellow,  no 

if-4 

R. 

silver 

Harris'     Checkerspot,     Meli- 

Orange  brown,  black  mottled 

m.  lA,/.  jf 

R.  C. 

tcea  harrisi 

Pearl      Crescent,     Phyciodes 

Orange  brown,  black  mottled 

m.  1  1,/.  ig 

V.  C. 

tharos 

Silver      Crescent,     Phyciodes 

Orange  brown,  black  mottled 

li-* 

C. 

nycteis 

Harvester,    Feniseca    tarqui- 

Orange  brown,  black  border  and 

4 

R.  R. 

nius 

spots 

Ismeria,  Phyciodes  ismeria 

Orange  brown,  black  mottled 

m.  ij,/.  if 

V.  R. 

Semicolon,  Grapta  interroga- 

Orange   brown,   black    dotted, 

4 

R.  C. 

tionis 

wings  angled 

Green  Comma,  Grapta  comma 

Orange   brown,  black    dotted, 

2 

R.  C. 

wings  angled 

Gray  Comma,  Grapta  progne 

Orange   brown,    black   dotted, 

2 

R.  C. 

wings  angled 

Brown  Comma,  Grapta  fau- 

Orange    brown,   black   dotted, 

2 

R. 

nus 

wings  angled 

Large    Tortoise-Shell  Butter- 

Orange   brown,   black    dotted, 

2| 

R. 

fly,  Vanessa  j-album 

wings  angled 

Small   Tortoise-Shell    Butter- 

Black,    orange     band,    wings 

If 

R. 

fly,  Vanessa  milberti 

angled 

Milkweed    Butterfly,    Anosia 

Orange  brown,  black  veined 

4-4 

V.  C. 

plexippus 

False     Milkweed     Butterfly, 

Orange  brown,  black  veined 

4 

C. 

Basilarchia  disippus 

Common  Copper,  Chrysopha- 

Orange,  hind  wing  black 

i 

V.  C. 

nus  hypophlceas 

Large  Copper,  Chrysophanus 

Orange  brown,  hind  wing  black 

'i 

V.  R. 

thoe 

(in.  washed  out) 

INSECTS    BENEFICIAL    AND    BEAUTIFUL 
BUTTERFLIES 


265 


Food  of  Caterpillar 

Broods  per  Season 

Haunts 

Number 

Month 

Violets,  pansy 

i 

July,  Aug. 

Meadows,  on  fireweed 

Violets,  pansy 

i  (or  2) 

July  (and  Sept.) 

Meadows,  on  fireweed 

Violets,  pansy 

3 

June,  Aug.,  Sept. 

Meadows  and  hillsides 

Violets,  pansy 

3 

June,  Aug.,  Sept. 

Meadows  and  hillsides 

Turtlehead  (while  young), 

i 

June,  July 

Swampy  places 

Aster  (when  older) 

Aster    (only  Diplopappus 

i 

June 

Roadsides,  on  clover 

tunbellatus) 

Aster  and  daisy 

2 

July,  Sept. 

Roadsides 

Aster 

I 

July 

Roadsides 

Plant  lice,  mealy  bugs  1 

3 

June,  July,  Sept. 

Edge  of  water 

Elm,  hop,  nettle 

2 

July,  Aug.,  May 

Roads  near  trees 

Elm,  hop,  nettle 

2 

May,  June,  Aug. 

Roads  near  trees  and 

waste  land 

Elm,  currants 

2 

July,  Sept.,  May 

Roads  near  trees  and 

gardens 

Willow 

I 

All  summer 

Roads  near  trees  and 

gardens 

Willow 

2 

Feb.-Oct. 

Edge  of  water 

Nettle 

3 

May,  June,  Aug.,  Sept. 

Roadsides 

Milkweed,  dogbane 

2  or  more 

May-Oct. 

Everywhere 

Willow,  poplar 

2 

June,  Aug. 

Roadsides 

Sorrel,  dock,  oxalis 

3 

May,  June,  Sept. 

Everywhere 

Sorrel 

2 

July,  Aug. 

Moist  land 

266 


NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 


Name 

Prominent  Colors  and  Markings 

Wing 
Expanse 
in  Inches 

Fre- 
quency 

Dark      Fritillary,     Argynnis 

Orange  brown,  hind  wing  black, 

2f-4 

C. 

idalia 

silver  spots 

Thistle    Butterfly,    Pyrameis 

Pink  or  red,  black  and  white 

2-2i 

C. 

cardui 

mottled 

Painted     Beauty,     Pyrameis 

Pink  or  red,  black  and  white 

2 

C. 

hunter  a 

mottled 

Snout      Butterfly,      Libythea 

Black,  orange  and  white  banded 

V.  R. 

bachmanni 

and  dotted 

Variegated     Fritillary,    Eup- 

Orange  brown,  black  checkered, 

«M 

V.  R. 

toieta  claudia 

no  silver 

Orange  Sulphur,  Colias  eury- 

Yellow  orange,  or  white,  black 

2 

V.  R. 

theme 

border 

Little  Orange  Sulphur,  Terias 

Yellow,  orange,  or  white,  black 

4-2 

V.  R. 

nicippe 

border 

Common  Sulphur,  Colias  phi- 

Yellow  or  white,  black  border 

'i-4 

V.  C. 

lodice 

Little  Sulphur,  Terias  lisa 

Yellow  or  white,  black  border 

4-4 

R. 

Cloudless  Sulphur,  Catopsilia 

Yellow  or  white,  no  black  border 

4 

R. 

eubule 

Tiger     Swallowtail,     Papilio 

Yellow,  black  bands 

3-5 

R.  C. 

turnus 

Mustard  White,  Pieris  napi 

White,  or  white  with  black  dots 

2 

R.  R. 

Cabbage  Butterfly,  Pieris  ra^ce 

White  with  black  dots 

2 

V.  C. 

Checkered  Cabbage  Butterfly, 

White  with  black  dots  (/.  gray 

2 

R. 

Pieris  protodice 

brown  checkered) 

Orange  Tip,  Euchloe  genutia 

White  with  black  dots  (m.  or- 

*i 

V.  R. 

ange  tipped) 

Light  Blue,  Lycatna  pseiidar- 

Light  violet  (/.  dark  bordered) 

i 

C. 

giolus 

Tailed  Blue,  Lyctena  comyn- 

Purple  (f.  often  brown) 

i 

C. 

tas 

Brown     Emperor,     Chlorippe 

Dark  brown  (/.  with  eye-spots) 

m.  2,f.  2\ 

V.  R. 

clyton 

Pearly  Eye,  Debts  portlandia 

Dark  brown,  20  eye-spots 

l|-2 

R.  R. 

Many-eyed   Satyr,   Satyrodes 

Dark  brown,  20  eye-spots  (semi- 

If 

R.  C. 

canthus 

transparent) 

Common  Wood-nymph,  Neo- 

Dark  brown,  6  eye-spots 

If 

R.  C. 

nympha  eurytus 

Blue-Eyed     Satyr,      Satyrus 

Dark  brown,  some  eye-spots  in 

2 

C. 

alope 

a  yellow-spot 

Dull-Eyed  Satyr,  S.  a.  nephele 

Dark  brown,  6  eye-spots 

If 

R. 

INSECTS    BENEFICIAL    AND    BEAUTIFUL        267 


Food  of  Caterpillar 

Broods  per  Season 

Haunts 

Number 

Month 

Violets,  pansy,  and  aster 

i 

July,  Aug. 

Low  land 

Thistle,  other  Composite 

2 

Aug.,  Sept.,  May 

High  pastures 

Thistle,  burdock,  everlast- 
ing 
Hackberry 

2 

July,  Sept.,  May 

High     pastures,     on 
thistles 

(Not  native)  Passion  flower 

3 

August 

Low  fields 

Clover 
Pea  family 

3 

2(?) 

May,  July,  Sept., 
April  2d 
June,  Aug.,  March 

Open  fields 
Open  fields 

Clover  and  pea  family 

Clover,  cassia 
Pea  family,  cassia 

3 

2 

2 

May,  June,  Sept. 

July,  Aug.,  April 
August 

About  cultivated  fields, 
everywhere 

Tulip  tree,  wild  cherry,  etc. 

2 

June,  Aug. 

Open  woods 

Mustard,  etc.  (rarely  cab- 
bage) 
Cabbage,  mustard,  etc. 
Mustard  family 

3 

3 
3 

May,  July,  Aug. 

May,  July,  Aug. 
May,  July,  Sept. 

Waste  land 

Gardens 
Gardens 

Mustard  family  (eats  flow- 
ers and  seed  pods) 
Pea    family,   and    almost 
everything 
Pea  family 

i 

2 

3 

May 
May,  July 
May,  Aug.,  Sept. 

Open  woods 
Roadsides 
Roadsides 

Hackberry,  elm,  etc. 

i 

June,  July 

Grasses 
Grasses 

Grasses 

i 
i 

i 

July 
July 

June 

Open  woods 
Meadows,  in  grass,  or 
open  woods 
Hillsides 

Grasses 

i 

July 

Hillsides 

Grasses 

i 

August 

Hillsides 

268 


NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 


Name 

Prominent  Colors  and  Markings 

Wing 
Expanse 
in  Inches 

Fre- 
quency 

Red  Admiral,  Pyrameis  ata- 

Dark  brown,  oval  orange  band 

2 

C. 

lanta 

Mourning   Cloak   or   Yellow- 

Dark  brown,  yellow  edge 

3 

C. 

Edge,  Vanessa  antiopa 

Blue    Emparor,    Basilarchia 

Blackish,  blue  shadings 

3 

R.  C. 

astyanax 

White   Admiral,  Basilarchia 

Blackish,  a  white  band 

2) 

V.  R. 

arthemis 

Black      Swallowtail,    Papilio 

Blackish,  blue  shading  and  yel- 

m. 3,7.  4 

C. 

asterias 

low  dots 

Blue      Swallowtail,     Papilio 

Blackish,     blue    shading     and 

31-42 

R.  C. 

troilus 

greenish  dots  (m.  blue  green) 

Green    Swallowtail,     Papilio 

Blackish    and    iridescent    blue 

3f-4i 

V.  R. 

philenor 

green 

Giant     Swallowtail,    Papilio 

Blackish,  yellow  dots 

4-5i 

V.  R. 

cresphontes 

Peacock,  Junonia  ccenia 

Blackish,   three  large   peacock 

2-4 

V.  R. 

eyes 

Hop  Hairstreak,  Thecla  meli- 

Blackish,  gray  below 

*i 

R.  C. 

nus 

Banded    Hairstreak,     Thecla 

Blackish,  light  brown  below 

a 

R.  R. 

calanus 

Acadian    Hairstreak,    Thecla 

Blackish,  light  brown  below 

*i 

R.  R. 

acadica 

Edward's  Hairstreak,  Thecla 

Blackish,  light  brown  below 

k 

R.  C. 

edivardsi 

Striped    Hairstreak,     Thecla 

Blackish,  light  brown  below 

$ 

R.  R. 

liparops 

Olive       Hairstreak,      Thecla 

Blackish,  orange  brown,  green- 

a-* 

R.  R. 

damon 

ish  below 

Brown  Elfin,  Thecla  augustus 

Blackish,  brown  below 

7 
8 

R. 

Hoary  Elfin,  Thecla  irus 

Blackish,  brown  below 

4 

R. 

Henry's    Hairstreak,    Thecla 

Blackish  and  red  brown,  brown 

I 

V.  R. 

henrici 

below 

Banded  Elfin,  Thecla  niphon 

Dark    reddish    brown,    brown 

4 

R.  R. 

mottled  below 

Early  Hairstreak,  Thecla  laeta 

Blackish,  light  gray  below 

2 

V.  R. 

Coral  Hairstreak,  Thecla  titus 

Blackish,  blackish  and  red  band 

ii 

R.  R. 

below 

Least  Copper,  Chrysophanus 

Blackish,  darker  dots  (m.  pur- 

H 

R.  R. 

epixanthe 

plish) 

INSECTS    BENEFICIAL    AND    BEAUTIFUL        269 


Food  of  Caterpillar 

Broods  per  Season 

Haunts 

Number 

Month 

Nettle,  elm 

2 

July,  Sept.,  May 

Waste  land 

Willow,  poplar,  elm 

2 

July,  Sept.,  April 

Edge  of  water 

Wild  cherry,  etc. 

i  or  2 

July  (Sept.) 

Roads  near  trees 

Wild  cherry,  hawthorn,  etc. 

i  (or  2) 

July  (Sept.) 

Open  woods 

Parsley  family 

2 

June,  Aug. 

Fields  and  gardens 

Sassafras,  spicebush 

2 

June,  Sept. 

Open  woods  and  brush 

Dutchman's  pipe 

2 

July,  Sept.,  May 

Near  houses 

(Orange  tree)  rue  family 

2 

June,  Aug. 

Meadows 

Plantain 

2 

Open  fields 

Hop  vine,  bean  pods,  etc. 

2 

May,  July 

About  shrubbery 

Oak 

I 

July,  Aug. 

About  shrubbery 

Willow 

I 

July,  Aug. 

Edge  of  water 

Oak 

- 

July,  Aug. 

About  shrubbery 

Oak,  willow,  apple  family, 

I 

July 

About  shrubbery 

etc. 

Cedar 

i  or  2 

May,  June,  Aug. 

Near  cedars 

Unknown    (perhaps     like 

i 

May 

Rough  land 

next) 

Bores  in  young  plums 

i 

May 

Roadsides  and  bushes 

Bores  in  young  plums 

Pine 

i 

May 

Roads  near  pine  trees 

Unknown 

Wild  cherry,  etc. 

i 

Last  of  July 

Open      places      near 

brush 

Unknown  (probably  sorrel) 

i 

July 

Meadows 

2/0 


NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 


Name 

Prominent  Colors  and  Markings 

Wing 
Expanse 
in  Inches 

Fre- 
quency 

Silver-spotted  Skipper,  Epar- 

Brown,  silver  spot  below 

*f 

C. 

gyreus  tityrus 

Northern  Dusky-  Wing,  Thory- 

Blackish,  few  faint  light  spots 

'i 

C. 

bes  py  lades 

Hoary-Edge,  Achalarus  lyci- 

Blackish,  orange  spot 

'i 

R. 

dus 

Checkered  Skipper,  Hesperia 

Blackish,  white  dots 

'1 

V.  R. 

centaurea 

Sooty-  Wing,  Pholisora  catul- 

Black 

i 

R.  R. 

lus 

Sleepy  Dusky-  Wing,  Thanaos 

Gray,  mottled 

«i 

R.  C. 

brizo 

Dreamy    Dusky-Wing,    Tha- 

Gray, mottled 

i-ii 

R.  C. 

naos  icelus 

Lucilius'  Dusky-Wing,    Tha- 

Gray, mottled,  white  dots 

•i 

R.  R. 

naos  lucilius 

Persius'    Dusky-Wing,    Tha- 

Gray, mottled,  white  dots 

4 

R.  C. 

naos  persius 

Martial's  Dusky-  Wing,   Tha- 

Gray, mottled,  white  dots 

ii 

R.  R. 

naos  martialis 

Juvenal's  Dusky-Wing,   Tha- 

Gray,  mottled,  white  dots 

if,   jg 

R. 

n  aos  juven  alls 

Horace's  Dusky-  Wing,    Tha- 

Gray, mottled,  white  dots 

'1 

R. 

naos  horatius 

Roadside    Skipper,    Aniblys- 

Blackish,  white  dots 

I 

R.  C. 

crites  vialis 

Pepper    and    Salt    Skipper, 

Blackish,  white  dots 

I 

R. 

Amblyscrites  samoset 

Bordered  Skipper,  Ancyloxy- 

Orange  brown,  black  border 

i-r 

C. 

pha  numitor 

Indian  Skipper,  Erynnis  sas- 

Light     orange     brown,     black 

r| 

R.  C. 

sacus 

border  and  marks 

CobyvebS\iipper,J:irynnismetea 

Gray  brown,  white  bands 

*i 

R. 

Leonard's   Skipper,   Erynnis 

m.  black  and  orange,  f.  black. 

«.j,/.  4 

R.  R. 

leonardus 

yellow  band 

Attalus'     Skipper,     Erynnis 

Gray  brown,  yellow  dots 

m.  ii/.  if 

V.  R. 

attains 

Whirlabout,  Thymelicus  bret- 

m.  orange,  black  dots,  /.  black- 

m. 4,/.  ij 

V.  R. 

tus 

ish,  yellow  dots 

Volcanic  Skipper,  Thymelicus 

Blackish,  white  dots 

m.  i,/.  ij 

R. 

cetna 

Long-Dash,  Thymelicusmystic 

Blackish,  yellowish  blotches 

m.  ij,/  ii 

R. 

INSECTS    BENEFICIAL    AND    BEAUTIFUL 


Food  of  Caterpillar 

Broods  per  Season 

Haunts 

Number 

Month 

Locust  tree,  wistaria,  etc. 

i 

July 

Bushy  pastures 

Locust  tree,  clover,  etc. 

2 

June,  Aug. 

Dry  fields 

Tick  trefoil 

Unknown,   probably  mal- 
lows 
Pigweed  (lamb's-quarters) 

2 

May,  Aug. 

Fields  and  gardens 

Oak,  milkwort,  etc. 

' 

June 

Meadows 

Oak,  poplar 

• 

June 

Damp  woods 

Columbine 

i,  2,  or  3 

May  (July,  Aug.) 

Rough  country 

Willows 

i  (or  2) 

May  (July) 

Shady  roadsides 

Pigweed  (lamb's-quarters) 

i  or  2 

Oaks  and  pea  family 

i  or  2 

May  (July-Aug.) 

Open  oak  woods 

Pea  family 

Grass 

Grass  (?) 

Grass 

3 

June,  Aug.,  Sept. 

Meadows 

Grass 

i 

June 

Meadows 

Unknown  (probably  grass) 
Grass 

i 

Sept. 

Meadows 

Unknown  (probably  grass) 

Grass 

Grass,  etc. 

• 

Grass 

2 

June,  Aug. 

Meadows 

272 


NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 


Name 

Prominent  Colors  and  Markings 

Wing 
Expanse 
in  Inches 

Fre- 
quency 

Peck's  Skipper,  Politespeckins 

Blackish,  rows  of  orange  dots 

m.  i,  /.  \\ 

C. 

Tawny-Eyed   Skipper,   Lhno- 

Blackish,  orange  dots  (in.  orange 

m.  i,  /.  1^ 

C. 

chores  tanmas 

blotch) 

Cross-Line      Skipper,    Limo- 

Blackish,  white  dots 

4 

R.  R. 

chores  manataaqna 

Pontiac    Skipper,  Limochores 

Blackish,  light  brownish  orange 

*.4>/4 

R. 

pontiac 

mottlings 

Little    Glass-  Wing,   Eitpliycs 

Blackish,  white  bars 

m.  il,/  if 

R.  R. 

Tern  a 

Dun  Skipper,  Enphyes  meta- 

Blackish 

m.  i-lf.  ii 

R. 

comet 

Mulberry-Wing,  Poanes  mas- 

Blackish  (orange  dots  in/) 

4 

R. 

sasoit 

Hobomok   Skipper,  Atrytone 

Light  brownish  orange,   black 

m.  ij,/.  4 

C. 

zabulon 

border  and  marks 

Delaware   Skipper,    Atrytone 

Light   brownish   orange,  black 

4-4 

R.  R. 

delaware 

border  and  marks 

Accius'  Skipper,  Lercnta  ac- 

Deep  brown 

4 

V.  R. 

clus 

Dusted  Skipper,  Lerema  hi- 

Olive  brown 

m.  1  1,/.  i| 

R. 

anna 

MOTHS 


Regal  Moth,  Citheronia  regalis 

Olive,     spotted    \vith     yellow, 

4-7 

V.  R. 

veins  red 

Imparial    Moth,    Eacles    im- 

Yellow,    spotted    and     banded 

4~5i 

R.  R. 

perialis 

with  purplish  brown 

lo  Moth,  Hyperchiria  io 

m.  yellow,/,  purplish  red 

;«.2^,/3i 

R.  C. 

Promethea,    Callosamia   pro- 

/.  reddish    brown,   light   wavy 

3Hi 

C. 

methea 

bands,  m.  darker,  markings 

indistinct 

Polyphemus,  American   Silk- 

Yellowish brown,  dusky  band, 

5-6 

R.  C. 

worm,  Telea  polyphemus 

four    transparent    eye-spots 

with  pink  outer  margin 

Cecropia,      Emperor      Moth, 

Red    brown,    wavy     dull    red 

5-7 

R.  C. 

Platysamia  cecropia 

bands 

Luna  Moth,  Actias  luna 

Light  green,  tailed,  front  border 

4-5i 

R. 

purple  brown 

KEY  : 


R.,  Rare  C.,  Common  R.  C.,  Rather  Common 

;«.,  male  /.,  female 


INSECTS    BENEFICIAL    AND    BEAUTIFUL        273 


Food  of  Caterpillar 

Broods  per  Season 

Haunts 

Number 

Month 

Grass 
Grass 

2 
2 

June,  Aug. 
June,  Aug. 

Meadows 
Meadows 

Grass 

Unknown  (probably  grass) 

Grass 

Unknown  (probably  grass) 

I  (?) 

July 

Meadows 

Unknown  (probably  grass) 

Grass 

I 

May,  June 

Meadows 

Grass 

I(?) 

July 

Meadows 

Grass 

Unknown  (probably  grass) 

MOTHS 


Hickory,  walnut,  pine 

' 

June 

Borders  of  woods 

Maple,  buttonwood,  pine 

i 

June 

Borders  of  woods 

Clover,  corn,  hops,  cotton. 

i 

June 

Fields  and  roadsides 

elm,  -  cherry,  and  other 

trees,  spines  venomous 

Wild    cherry,    tulip,    ash, 

i 

June,  July 

Open  woods 

and  other  trees 

Oak,   elm,   hickory,   bass- 

i 

June,  July 

Open  woods 

wood,  maple,  and  other 

trees 

Apple,  cherry,  plum,  and 

i 

June,  July 

Opan  woods 

many  other  trees 

Walnut,  hickory,  birch 

i 

June 

Borders  of  woods 

R.  R.,  Rather  Rare  V.  R.,  Very  Rare  V.  C.,  Very  Common 

1  The  only  native  carnivorous  butterfly-caterpillar. 


CHAPTER    XVI 

INSECTIVOROUS   ANIMALS 

THE  COMMON  TOAD  :  ITS  LIFE  STORY  AND  WORK  ; 
THE  BIOLOGICAL  TYPE 

Life  runs  its  rounds  of  living,  climbing  up 

From  moat,  and  gnat,  and  worm,  reptile,  and  fish, 

Bird  and  shagged  beast,  man,  demon,  deva,  God, 

To  clod  and  moat  again  ;  so  are  we  kin 

To  all  that  is ;  and  thus,  if  one  might  save 

Man  from  his  curse,  the  whole  wide  world  should  share 

The  lightened  horror  of  this  ignorance 

Whose  shadow  is  chill  fear,  and  cruelty 

Its  bitter  pastime. 

SIR  EDWIN  ARNOLD,  Light  of  Asia. 

IF  the  children  are  interested  in  their  gardens,  vines, 
and  fruit  trees,  and  if  they  have  begun  to  study  intelli- 
gently the  insects  about  their  homes,  they  will  be  ready 
to  commence  with  zest  the  work  with  our  insectivorous 
animals. 

Possibly  some  child  in  the  class  has  a  pet  toad.  If  so, 
have  it  brought  to  school  and  make  it  at  home  in  an 
aquarium  or  glass  box  of  some  sort  with  about  two  inches 
of  moist  earth  in  the  bottom.  It  will  probably  bury  itself 
with  only  its  back  and  eyes  above  the  surface.  Then 
ask  the  children  to  bring  in  all  sorts  of  insects  —  flies, 
caterpillars,  hornets,  wasps,  rose  beetles,  spiders,  ants, 
moths,  roaches,  squash  bugs,  anything  they  can  find- 

274 


INSECTIVOROUS    ANIMALS  275 

especially  such  as  may  be  destructive  and  annoying  in 
the  neighborhood.  During  the  nature-study  hour  turn 
these  in  with  the  toad  and  let  the  class  gather  around  and 
count  the  number  it  requires  for  a  dinner.  They  will  be 
able  to  observe  the  manner  in  which  the  toad  catches 
an  insect,  —  a  flash  of  pink,  almost  too  quick  for  the  eye 
to  follow,  and  the  insect  is  gone.  From  the  numbers 


FIG.  in.    A  PAIR  OF  TOADS 
Female  and  male.     (Photograph  by  the  author) 

obtained,  they  may  be  led  to  reason  what  a  power  for 
good  one  such  little  animal  may  exert  in  their  gardens. 
They  will  also  notice  that  a  toad  never  snaps  at  anything 
until  it  moves,  so  that  all  its  food  must  consist  of  moving 
living  things.1 

For  the  next  lesson  the  children  may  be  asked  to  study 
the  toads  about  their  own  homes.  First,  how  many  have 

1  For  suitable  vivaria  or  aquaria,  see  Chapter  XXIII.  If  insects  are 
not  obtainable,  bits  of  fresh  meat  may  be  dangled  on  the  end  of  a  thread, 
dragged  slowly  in  front  of  the  toad,  etc.,  thus  demonstrating  its  manner  of 
feeding  almost  equally  well. 


276 


NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 


FIG.  112.    JUST  BEFORE 


they  ?  This  question  may  be  answered  by  searching  over 
the  lot  about  sundown  or  after  a  shower.  Do  they  have 
enough  to  keep  the  ground  free  from  insects  ?  How 

large  are  their  toads  ? 
Let  us  see  who  can  bring 
in  the  biggest  toad,  and 
the  smallest.  What  kinds 
of  places  do  toads  select 
to  spend  the  day  in  ? 
This  is  an  important 
point.  /It  will  be  found 
that  they  choose  moist, 
shady  places,  under 
stones,  leaves,  or,  more 
often,  under  boards.  Are 
there  enough  such  shel- 
ters well  distributed  about  their  gardens  ?/ 

Before  I  knew  what  to  do  to  save  my  garden  from  the  slugs, 
I  have  stood  at  evening  rejoicing  over  rows  of  fresh  emerald  leaves 
just  springing  in  rich  lines  along  the  beds",  and  woke  in  the  morning 
to  find  the  whole  space  stripped  of 
any  sign  of  green,  as  blank  as  a 
board  over  which  a  carpenter's  plane 
has  passed. 

In  the  thickest  of  my  fight  with 
the  slugs  some  one  said  to  me, 
"Every  living  thing  has  its  enemy; 
the  enemy  of  the  slug  is  the  toad. 
Why  don't  you  import  toads?" 

I    snatched    at    the    hope    held 
out  to   me,  and  immediately  wrote 
to  a  friend  on  the  continent,  "  In  the  name  of  the  Prophet,  Toads !  " 
At  once  a  force  of  only   too  willing  boys  was  set  about  the  work 


FIG.  113.    JUST  AFTER 


INSECTIVOROUS    ANIMALS  277 

of  catching  every  toad  within  reach,  and  one  day  in  June  a  boat 
brought  a  box  to  me  from  the  far-off  express  office.  A  piece  of  wire 
netting  was  nailed  across  the  top,  and  upon  the  earth  with  which 
it  was  half  filled,  reposing  upon  some  dry  and  dusty  green  leaves, 
sat  three  dry  and  dusty  toads,  wearily  gazing  at  nothing.  .  Is  this 
all,  I  thought,  only  three  !  Hardly  worth  sending  so  far.  Poor 
creatures !  they  looked  so  arid  and  wilted,  I  took  up  the  hose  and 
turned  upon  them  a  gentle  shower  of  fresh  cool  water,  flooding  the 
box.  I  was  not  prepared  for  the  result !  The  dry,  baked  earth 
heaved  tumultuously  :  up  came  dusky  heads  and  shoulders  and  bright 
eyes  by  the  dozen.  A  sudden  concert  of  liquid  sweet  notes  was 
poured  out  on  the  air  from  the  whole  rejoicing  company.  It  was 
really  beautiful  to  hear  that  musical  ripple  of  delight.  I  surveyed 
them  with  eager  interest  as  they  sat  singing  and  blinking  together. 
"  You  are  not  handsome,"  I  said,  as  I  took  a  hammer  and  wrenched 
oft  the  wire  cover  that  shut  them  in,  "  but  you  will  be  lovely  in  my 
sight  if  you  will  help  me  to  destroy  mine  enemy  " ;  and  with  that  I 
turned  the  box  on  its  side  and  out  they  skipped  into  a  perfect  para- 
dise of  food  and  shade.  All  summer  I  came  upon  them  in  different 
parts  of  the  garden,  waxing  fatter  and  fatter  till  they  were  as  round 
as  apples.  In  the  autumn  baby  toads  no  larger  than  my  thumb  nail 
were  found  hopping  merrily  over  the  whole  island.  There  were 
sixty  in  that  first  importation  ;  next  summer  I  received  ninety  more. 
CELT  A  THAXTER,  An  Island  Garden,  pp.  9,  10.  (See  also  Letters 
of  Celia  Thaxter,  p.  179.) 

We  may  next  take  up  the  life  story.  Who  can  bring 
in  the  first  eggs  ?  Where  shall  we  look  for  toads'  eggs  ? 
At  what  season  are  they  laid  ?  Who  ever  heard  of  toads' 
eggs,  anyway?  What  do  they  look  like  ?  What  child  in 
the  class  can  tell  us  ? 

This  part  of  the  subject  should  be  taken  up  in  the 
spring,  about  the  time  the  frost  comes  out  of  the  ground. 
On  some  of  the  first  warm  evenings  after  this,  a  rustling 
of  dry  leaves  and  grass  may  be  heard  in  every  direction, 


27$  NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 

where  toads  are  plenty.  It  will  often  be  mingled  with 
low  musical  trills  of  the  male  toad.  This  is  the  signal  by 
which  you  may  know  that  all  the  adult  toads  are  migrat- 
ing to  the  nearest  pond  to  lay  their  eggs.  That  same 
night,  or  as  you  awake  in  the  morning,  you  will  hear 
the  country  ringing  with  the  music  Gibson  has  so  well 
described  as  the  "  sweetest  sound  in  nature."  As  spring 
draws  slowly  on,  my  ears  grow  impatient  to  hear  it,  and 
as  the  years  go  by  I  enjoy  it  more  and  more.  True, 


M. 


FIG.  114.    LIFE  STORY 

Showing  egg,  tadpole,  young  toad  just  emerged  from  water,  one  year  old,  and 
adult.     (£,  c,  d,  e,  photographs  by  the  author) 

some  may  think  it  monotonous.  It  may  come  but  once 
a  year,  and  then  only  for  a  few  days,  and  to  me  it  is  one 
of  the  cheeriest  wedding  bells  of  the  season. 

But  the  early  musicians  are  now  forgotten.  A  new  singer  has 
come  upon  the  scene,  and  his  mellow  nocturne  in  the  twilight  marshes 
brings  a  message  unknown  to  his  predecessors.  This  is  no  shrill 
peep  that  stirs  your  blood  and  sets  your  ears  a-tingle,  no  bubbling 
rattle  or  vibrant  croak  that  cries  "qui  vive"  to  your  eager  senses, 
but  a  drowsy  drool  that  brings  your  feet  to  loitering  in  the  deepening 
dusk,  and  whose  distant  music  from  the  swampy  lowlands  lulls  you 


INSECTIVOROUS    ANIMALS  279 

on  your  pillow.  It  is  to  me  the  sweetest  sound  in  nature,  the  faithful 
chosen  voice  of  the  twilight,  one  of  the  most  characteristic  attributes 
of  late  spring,  and  yet,  like  the  sprightly  welcome  of  the  hylodes 
which  ushers  in  the  vernal  season,  it  still  remains  unsung  by  our 
poets,  or  if  occasionally  acknowledged  the  true  singer  never  gets  the 
credit. 

Who  will  immortalize  in  verse  the  pensive  witchery,  "  most 
musical,  most  melancholy,"  of  this  tremorous  song  of  the  toad,  for 
it  is  in  truth  the  uncouth  and  ill-favored  toad  that  now  swells  his 
bagpipe  in  the  marshes  and  fills  the  night  with  music  ?  It  is  one  of 
the  beneficences  of  nature  that  the  twilight  glamour  throws  a  veil  of 
obscurity  over  the  performer  while  it  emphasizes  and  consecrates  its 
music.  HAMILTON  GIBSON,  Sharp  Eyes,  p.  54. 

If  we  go  down  to  the  pond  next  morning,  we  may  see 
them  by  scores,  hundreds,  possibly  thousands,  paddling 
about  in  the  water,  the  males,  many  of  them,  trilling  at 
the  top  of  their  voices.  Many,  possibly,  are  still  arriving, 
hopping  along,  all  toward  the  pond.  The  males  do  all 
the  piping,  and  it  will  be  noticed  that  the  throat  is 
swelled  into  a  bagpipe  while  the  sound  is  emitted.  Males 
and  females  are  otherwise  distinguished  by  the  larger 
size  of  the  female,  the  body  being  also  greatly  distended 
with  eggs.1 

The  mass  of  eggs  laid  by  a  toad  is  remarkable.  It 
may  be  demonstrated  by  placing  a  pair,  before  they  begin 
to  lay,  in  an  aquarium  or  bucket  half  full  of  water.  If 
the  water  and  receptacle  are  clean,  i.e.^  if  there  is  no  sand 
or  plants  to  become  mixed  with  the  eggs,  a  clear,  bright 
mass  of  eggs  may  be  obtained.  A  stone  should  be  placed 

1  Children,  when  they  begin  studying  toads  in  the  spring,  often  think 
that  the  male  is  "eating"  or  "sucking  the  blood"  of  the  female.  They 
should  be  told  that  he  is  helping  the  female  lay  her  eggs. 


280 


NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 


in  the  water,  rising  to  the  surface,  for  the  toads  to  rest 
on.  Some  boy  or  girl  may  volunteer  to  secure  the  entire 
laying  of  a  pair  of  toads  to  show  the  school,  and  it  might 
be  interesting  to  count  or  estimate  the  number.  Toad 
spawn  is  distinguished  from  that  of  frogs  and  salaman- 
ders by  the  fact  that  it  is  laid  in  strings  or  "  ropes,"  the 
eggs  lying  in  single  rows  inclosed  in  a  transparent  jelly. 
They  are  about  the  size  of  a  small  pin  head  at  first,  black 

above  and  light  below  ; 
as  they  float  they  look 
like  strings  of  black 
beads.  It  may  stagger 
the  class  to  believe  that 
a  toad  can  lay  a  mass  of 
eggs  eight  or  ten  times 


:• 


FIG.  115.    EGGS  LAID  BY  A  TOAD 
The  glass  dish  is  nine  inches  in  diameter. 
Number  of  eggs,  9500  (estimated) 


as  large  as  its  whole 
body,  —  as  though  a  hen 
were  to  lay  an  egg  the 
size  of  a  bushel  basket. 
This  mystery  is  ex- 
plained by  the  swelling 
of  the  jelly  on  contact  with  the  water.  But  the  number 
of  eggs  is  almost  incredible.  Layings  of  four  toads  con- 
tained, respectively,  7587  and  11,545  (counted),  and  8000 
and  9500  (estimated).  This  number  is  laid  in  a  few  hours, 
generally  at  night ;  and  then,  quitting  the  water,  the  parents 
probably  return  to  the  same  gardens  whence  they  came. 
Beginning  with  the  egg,  the  most  interesting  part  of  the 
toad's  life  story  may  be  read  in  its  reality  by  occasional 
observations  in  the  ponds  and  by  taking  a  few  eggs  home 
or  to  the  schoolroom  to  watch  their  development  from 


INSECTIVOROUS    ANIMALS 


28l 


day  to  day.      No  aquatic  egg  is  better  adapted  for  such 
use.     It  is  large  enough  to  be  seen  with  the  unaided  eye, 


FIG.  116.    AQUARIUM 
Arranged  to  collect  eggs  of  a  toad 


develops  under  all  sorts  of  conditions,  and  the  progress 
is  so  rapid  that  interest  is  sustained  to  the  end.  First 
the  egg  elongates,  then  the  tiny  flat  tadpoles  hatch  and, 


282  NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 

feeding  first  on  the  gelatinous  matter  of  their  envelope, 
they  soon  begin  to  eat  the  slimes  in  the  aquarium  and 
grow  with  great  rapidity ;  hind  legs  appear,  fore  legs 
come,  the  tail  is  absorbed,  and  the  little  toads  emerge  from 
the  water,  —  all  within  little  more  than  a  month  from  the 
time  the  eggs  are  laid. 

To  do  this  in  the  schoolroom,  have  some  of  the  chil- 
dren arrange  two  or  three  aquaria  (glass,  earthenware, 
wood,  or  iron  may  be  used,  but  tin,  lead,  zinc,  galvanized 
iron,  copper,  and  other  metals  should  be  avoided,  since 
they  may  poison  the  water  and  kill  the  tadpoles)  as  nearly 
as  possible  like  the  pond  from  which  the  eggs  are  taken. 
Have  the  water  not  more  than  two  to  four  inches  deep  in 
the  deepest  part,  and  let  the  bottom  slope  up  gradually 
to  the  surface  at  one  end.  This  will  enable  the  tadpoles 
to  find  any  depth  of  water  they  wish  and  afford  a  place 
for  them  to  come  out  gradually  into  the  air  at  the  proper 
time.  In  fact,  the  bottom  of  the  aquarium  may  be  made 
of  sand,  gravel,  and  moss-covered  stones  from  a  fairly 
clean  pond.  It  is  necessary  also  to  have  plenty  of  green 
algae  and  water  plants,  duck's-meat,  stonewort,  bladder- 
wort,  milfoil,  water  cress,  or  the  like,  to  oxygenate  the 
water  properly,  furnish  food,  and  take  up  the  excretions  of 
the  growing  tadpoles.  If  the  aquarium  is  large  enough, 
a  water  hyacinth  is  an  excellent  plant  to  have  growing 
in  it  for  this  latter  purpose.  If  the  tadpoles  do  not  keep 
the  water  perfectly  clear,  a  fresh-water  mussel  or  two 
will  accomplish  this.  Give  them  a  window  with  sunlight 
a  good  part  of  the  day ;  as  they  grow,  let  the  children 
carry  any  surplus  back  to  the  pond,  and  avoid  over- 
crowding by  allowing  about  an  inch  of  water  surface  to 


INSECTIVOROUS    ANIMALS  283 

a  tadpole.  If  they  tend  to  eat  the  aquarium  bare,  add 
fresh  supplies  of  slime  and  plants  from  the  pond  and,  in 
a  word,  keep  them  healthy,  vigorous,  and  growing. 

Encourage  as  many  children  as  possible  to  provide  little 
pools  in  their  gardens,  stock  them  well  with  water  lilies, 
pickerel  weed,  cat-tails,  iris,  and  other  of  our  interesting 
aquatic  plants,  and  put  in  as  many  toads'  eggs  or  tadpoles 
as  the  pool  will  support.  For  this  purpose  a  water-tight 
box  or  tub  may  be  set  in  the  ground,  or  a  more  natural 
pool  may  be  made  by  arranging  large  flat  stones  around  a 
hole  in  the  ground  and  plastering  up  the  cracks  between 
them  with  water-lime  cement.  The  top  of  any  such  recep- 
tacle should  be  two  or  three  inches  below  the  surface,  and 
the  earth  well  packed  around  the  edges  to  prevent  rains 
from  splashing  out  its  occupants.  If  natural  food  be  not 
abundant,  its  place  may  be  supplied  by  bits  of  dog  biscuit, 
fresh  meat,  fish,  or  even  bread,  but  care  should  be  taken 
to  put  in  no  more  than  is  eaten  clean  or  to  remove 
uneaten  pieces  before  they  foul  the  water.  In  this  way, 
without  appreciable  expense,  any  child  can  raise  toads  by 
thousands,  until  many  of  our  most  injurious  insect  pests 
become  curiosities.  The  danger  of  ever  getting  too  many 
toads  we  will  discuss  in  a  moment. 

Emphasize  throughout  these  lessons  the  work  the  tad- 
poles are  doing  in  the  water.  They  are  known  as  the 
"  best  scavengers  "  of  aquaria,  and  it  is  difficult  to  keep  an 
aquarium  clean  without  them.  Their  little  horny  jaws 
are  continually  scraping  the  slimy  growths  from  every- 
thing in  the  water.  Their  food  at  this  time  is  commonly 
stated  to  be  vegetable,  but  if  one  examines  these  slimes 
with  a  microscope,  he  will  always  find  a  considerable 


284  NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 

proportion  of  animal  life  as  well.  Toad  tadpoles  are  espe- 
cially good  for  this  work  and  will  generally  keep  the  water 
in  the  aquarium  as  clear  as  crystal.  An  instructive  experi- 
ment may  be  arranged  by  setting  up  two  small  aquaria  just 
alike.  Put  in  plants  and  everything  else,  but  leave  all 
the  tadpoles  out  of  one  and  observe  differences  in  cleanli- 
ness of  the  water.  Unite  with  this  study  observations  as 
to  feeding  habits  of  tadpoles  in  the  ponds.  They  may  be 
seen  swarming  around  dead  fishes,  frogs,  or  other  matter 
that  would  otherwise  pollute  the  water.  Apply  the 
knowledge  gained  to  the  problem  of  keeping  the  ponds 
and  park  waters  in  the  neighborhood  clear  and  sweet.1 

Natural  enemies  of  the  toad  form  the  next  series  of 
topics  for  study.  Why  is  it  that,  laying  from  five  to  ten 
thousand  eggs  a  year,  toads  clo  not  become  more  numer- 
ous ?  No  one  knows  the  natural  length  of  a  toad's  life. 
It  is  claimed  that  one  lived  for  thirty-six  years  in  a  garden 
in  England  and  was  then  killed  by  a  tame  raven.  They 
probably  mature  and  begin  to  lay  eggs  when  about  four 
years  old.  Suppose  the  females  continue  laying  for  ten 
years,  the  fact  that  the  species  does  not  increase  in  num- 
bers means  that  of  the  possible  100,000  eggs  only  two 
survive  to  take  the  place  of  their  parents.  How  are  all 
the  rest  killed  off  ? 

Practically  every  egg  in  a  laying  hatches,  and  I  have 
not  discovered  that  any  fishes,  newts,  tadpoles,  or  aquatic 
insects  eat  the  eggs.  But  the  tadpoles  from  the  time 

1  As  filth  is  washed  into  the  ponds  by  the  freshets  of  early  spring,  no 
small  service  may  be  rendered  in  cleaning  surface  waters  at  this  season.  I 
have  seen  pools  even  among  city  dumpage  perfectly  clean  while  the  tad- 
poles were  in  them  during  the  spring. 


INSECTIVOROUS    ANIMALS  285 

they  hatch  until  they  leave  the  water  are  preyed  upon  by 
water  beetles,  dragon-fly  larvae,  newts,  and  possibly  fishes. 
The  entire  hatching  of  a  "pond  may  be  thus  destroyed. 
Probably  ducks  feed  upon  both  eggs  and  tadpoles  in  great 
numbers.  On  leaving  the  water  the  little  toads  are  at 
the  mercy  of  ducks,  hens,  and  many  insectivorous  birds. 
Crows  and  snakes,  and  many  species  of  hawks  and  owls 
feed  upon  the  adults.  In  addition  to  those  destroyed  by 
natural  enemies  many  are  killed  by  wheels  of  vehicles 
and  lawn  mowers,  and  many  more  are  trodden  under  foot 
and  burned  in  rubbish.1 

The  toad  is  known  to  possess  something  of  a  "homing 
instinct "  ;  so  that  if  they  are  collected  and  put  into  a 
garden,  they  immediately  leave  it,  unless  confined,  in  their 
attempt  to  find  their  familiar  haunts.  It  is  also  said  that 
the  adults  generally  return  to  the  pond  in  which  they  were 
hatched,  to  lay  their  eggs.  Both  of  these  considerations, 
coupled  with  the  fact  that  it  is  difficult  or  impossible  to 
protect  them  from  natural  enemies  in  the  ponds  at  large, 
emphasize  the  advisability  of  each  garden  or  farm  raising 
its  supply  in  the  easy  manner  suggested  above.  It  is 
work  that  any  child  can  do  and  be  the  better  and  wiser 
for  doing,  aside  from  any  more  material  benefits  that  may 
accrue,  and  these  are  likely  to  be  by  no  means  small. 

The  criticism  naturally  arises  that  such  artificial  cul- 
ture might  result  in  a  plague  of  toads.  This  is  scarcely 

1  In  looking  over  burned  brush  lands  and  weedy  vacant  lots,  where  the 
leaves  and  rubbish  have  been  burned  in  the  spring,  the  writer  has  so  often 
found  the  charred  bodies  of  toads  that  general  attention  should  be  called 
to  this  matter.  If  this  be  done,  common  sense  as  well  as  humanity  will 
dictate  that  such  burning  should  be  done,  when  possible,  either  after  the 
ground  freezes  in  the  fall  or  before  the  frost  comes  out  in  the  spring. 


286  NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 

possible,  for  a  number  of  reasons.  First,  the  retiring  and 
wholly  inoffensive  nature  of  the  animal  could  not  consti- 
tute it  any  such  plague  as  we  already  have  in  many  species 
of  insects  that  it  destroys.  As  it  is  nocturnal,  even  its 
proverbial  ugliness  is  not  conspicuous.  Its  powers  of 
locomotion  are  so  limited  that  it  could  be  easily  caught 
and  destroyed,  if  that  should  ever  become  necessary. 
Finally,  its  natural  food  supply,  consisting  wholly  of 
insects,  worms,  slugs,  and.  the  like,  would  inevitably  set 
a  natural  limit  to  its  increase.1 

We  have  before  us  an  example  of  the  plasticity  of  one  of 
nature's  mechanisms.  A  toad  can  live  a  year,  or  even 
two,  in  apparent  comfort,  without  any  food  whatever,  but 
no  eggs  will  be  produced.  If  food  be  abundant,  it  will  eat 
voraciously  and  produce  eggs  in  great  numbers,  possibly 
twice  a  year.2  Every  such  plastic  living  mechanism  is  a 
bow  bent  back,  and  wherever  its  force  is  beneficent  we 
should  be  careful  to  keep  it  bent  so  that  its  spring  will  be 
able  to  do  the  greatest  good  possible  at  any  opportune 
moment. 

"  However  useful  they  may  be,"  one  teacher  remarked, 
"  a  toad  is  such  an  ugly,  disgusting  creature  we  never  can 
use  it  in  school."  This  is  tradition,  against  which  it  is 

1  Destruction  of  honeybees  is  about  the  only  damage  toads  could  do, 
should  they  become  too  numerous.     But  as  bees  are  not  nocturnal  and 
are  not  much  on  the  ground,  this  danger  is  imaginary. 

2  In  some  seasons  toads  are  found  in  considerable  numbers  laying  eggs 
in  July.     These  may  be  belated  individuals,  but  I  am  inclined  to  think 
that  they  are  laying  a  second  time.     Celia  Thaxter's  experience  supports 
this  view,  for  her  toads,  brought  to  the  Shoals  in  June,  filled  the  island 
with  little  toads  the  same  summer.     They  must  have  laid  once  before  their 
importation. 


INSECTIVOROUS    ANIMALS  287 

well  worth  while  to  contend.1  Children  are  rarely,  if  ever, 
troubled  by  such  notions,  unless  they  have  been  implanted 
by  their  elders ;  and  while  no  compulsion  is  called  for, 
their  objections  are  often  easily  overcome.  The  toad  is 
not  a  handsome  animal,  yet  its  eye,  the  fabled  " jewel" 
in  its  head,  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  in  nature. 

Ask  the  children  why  they  think  the  toad  was  made  so 
ugly,  all  but  the  eye.  There  are  important  lessons  in  the 
answer  to  this  question.  Keen-eyed  birds  of  prey  and 
snakes  are  continually  seeking  it  for  food.  With  no 
means  of  defense  or  escape  from  these  swift  pursuers,  its 
only  hope  of  life  lies  in  being  as  inconspicuous  as  possible. 
This  story  is  thousands  of  years  old,  and  all  this  time  the 
more  brightly  colored  toads  have  been  snapped  up  first 
and  those  that  most  resembled  clods  of  earth  have  escaped. 
On  the  other  hand,  insects  must  come  close  enough  for 
the  toad  to  capture.  They  must  practically  walk  into 
its  mouth,  and  thus  it  depends  for  its  food  upon  looking 
like  the  harmless  earth  over  which  they  crawl.  These 
are  lessons  applicable  to  every  living  thing  we  study,  and 
when  their  significance  is  appreciated,  they  may  do  much 
toward  reconciling  the  fastidious  to  the  homeliness  of  the 
toad.  Its  life  and  its  work  in  the  world  depend  upon  it. 

1  Farewell,  farewell !  but  this  I  tell 
To  thee,  thou  Wedding-Guest, — 
He  prayeth  well,  who  loveth  well 
Both  man  and  bird  and  beast. 

He  prayeth  best,  who  loveth  best 
All  things  both  great  and  small ; 
For  the  dear  God  who  loveth  us, 
He  made  and  loveth  all. 

COLERIDGE,  The  Rime  of  the  Ancient  Mariner, 


288 


NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 


If  roughly  handled,  a  whitish  liquid,  which  is  somewhat  poisonous, 
is  secreted  from  the  skin  of  a  toad,  especially  from  the  large  glands 
near  the  head.  It  will  cause  some  swelling  of  a  dog's  mouth,  and 

care  should  be 
taken  not  to  allow 
it  to  get  into  the 
eyes  when  hand- 
ling toads.  The 
natural  precau- 
tions, gentle  hand- 
ling and  washing 
the  hands  after- 
wards, are  all-suffi- 
c  i  e  n  t  safeguards 
against  any  ven- 
omous properties, 
and  these  also 
apply  to  the  hand- 
ling of  many  other 
animals1;  but 
everything  advo- 
cated in  this  chap- 
ter can  be  done 
without  so  much 
as  touching  a  toad. 

FIG.  117.     PROTECTIVE  COLORATION  We   maY   catch    U 

in  a  large  leaf,  a 

piece  of  paper  or  cloth  or  in  a  tumbler  or  jelly  glass.  The  neatest 
way  to  demonstrate  a  toad  to  a  class  is  to  have  it  in  a  clean  tumbler 
with  a  piece  of  gauze  securely  tied  over  the  top.  It  may  then  be 

1  A..H.  Kirkland,  "  The  Habits,  Food,  and  Economic  Value  of  the  Ameri- 
can Toad  "  {Bulletin  46,  Hatch  Experiment  Station,  Amherst,  Mass.),  gives 
the  fullest  account'extant  of  the  toad  from  this  standpoint.  By  his  method, 
killing  the  animals  and  opening  the  stomach,  he  identified  eighty-three  dif- 
ferent species  of  insects,  most  of  them  injurious,  as  entering  into  its  dietary. 
By  the  method  advocated  above,  however,  *'.<?.,  by  making  feeding  tests  in 
a  vivarium  with  insects  collected  for  the  purpose,  any  school  could  add 


INSECTIVOROUS    ANIMALS  289 

passed  around  and  examined  without  danger  of  offending  the  most 
fastidious.  The  idea  that  warts  are  caused  by  handling  toads  is 
ancient  myth  without  foundation  in  fact. 

The  Biological  Type.  —  Types  of  animal  forms  and  struc- 
tures have  long  been  used  in  college  courses  in  biology 
and  belong  properly  to  this  grade  of  advanced  instruction. 
The  many  attempts  to  introduce  these  same  "types"  into 
more  and  more  elementary  work  have  seemed  to  me  pre- 
mature and  ill  advised.  Before  such  studies  are  undertaken 
the  children  need  a  foundation  of  living  interests  in  the 
animal  life  about  them,  and  I  have  advanced  this  study 
as  a  new  kind  of  type,  adapted  to  elementary  education. 
I  have  called  it  the  biological  type.  In  less  technical 
words  it  may  be  called  the  life  type,  or  life-story  type, 
for  the  study  of  an  animal  species.  We  have  come  of 
late  to  appreciate  the  necessity  of  studying  animals  and 
plants  with  children  "as  wholes,"  but  this  too  often  has 
been  interpreted  to  include  little  more  than  their  forms 
and  structures,  which  to  children  are  dead  and  without 
interest.  By  this  life  type  I  mean  the  activities,  the  work 
of  a  species  in  its  wholeness, — the  active  relations  of  the 
animal  to  the  life  about  it  and  especially  to  man.  This  is 
the  side  of  fundamental,  large,  and  universal  interests  in 
the  life  about  us. 

hundreds  of  species  to  this  list,  if  they  knew  the  species.  Still  this,  of 
course,  would  not  show  what  might  be  termed  the  natural  feeding  habits 
of  the  toad.  But  the  toad's  stomach  is  a  straight  sac  extending  from  the 
mouth,  where  it  is  very  wide,  back  almost  to  the  end  of  the  body.  It  is 
easily  everted,  and  by  gently  inserting  a  wire  loop  (a  hairpin  does  very 
well)  the  whole  stomach  contents  may  be  drawn  out  without  the  least  injury 
to  the  animal.  I  do  not,  however,  give  this  as  a  method  to  be  used,  but 
merely  as  a  suggestion,  by  which  the  animal's  life  may  be  saved  when  it  is 
desired  to  make  such  examinations. 


290  NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 

There  can  be  no  reasonable  doubt  that  this  aspect  of 
movement  and  activity  is  the  natural  side  of  approach  for 
the  child.  It  is  akin  to  that  animism  of  childhood  which 
projects  life  and  action  even  into  inanimate  things.  It  is 
this  side  of  living  nature  which,  from  intrinsic  fascinations 
and  varied  affinities  with  the  passion  for  activity  of  child 
life  itself,  is  best  adapted  to  create  enduring  interests  and 
love  of  nature.  It  is,  moreover,  with  this  side  of  nature 
that  a  child's  activities  come  into  frequent  clash,  which 
results  in  all  sorts  of  apparently  brutal  harms  to  nature. 
With  but  a  minimum  of  proper  instruction  which  may 
bring  the  child  into  sympathy  with  the  life  around  it,  and 
especially  show  its  values  and  relations  to  human  life  and 
interests,  all  such  activity  may  be  easily  guided  into  benefi- 
cent channels.  Instead  of  being  repressed,  as  is  now  so 
much  the  case,  this  activity  may  be  greatly  developed  and 
encouraged ;  and  then  child  life  will  flow  happily  along  with 
the  life  of  nature. 

But  why  choose  such  an  animal  to  illustrate  the  bio- 
logical type  ?  There  are  many  reasons,  which  I  may  briefly 
state,  in  relation  to  the  fundamental  values  of  nature  study 
discussed  in  a  former  chapter. 

First,  on  the  aesthetic  side,  to  find  any  beauty  in  a  form 
proverbially  the  ugliest  in  nature  carries  the  whole  battle,— 
sweeps  the  field  of  ancient  prejudice  and  unfaith  in  nature. 
To  discover  here  the  brightest  jewel  and  the  "sweetest 
sound  in  nature"  awakens  a  child's  faith  and  impels  him 
to  seek  and  find  beauty  in  everything  about  him. 

I  pick  up  a  toad  a  hundred  times  a  season  just  to  enjoy  looking  at 
its  eye,  —  a  living,  sparkling,  ever-changing  jewel,  —  and  his  music 
in  the  springtime  brings  a  pleasure  that  nothing  else  affords. 


INSECTIVOROUS    ANIMALS  291 

On  the  side  of  public  economy,  the  toad  is  one  of  the 
most  important  animals  we  have.  Toads  are  practically 
at  every  child's  door ;  it  need  cost  nothing  for  specimens, 
and  their  commonness  makes  it  possible  for  children  to 
observe  and  study  them  at  odd  times  about  their  homes. 
Further  than  this,  the  school  children  might  save  in  the 
course  of  their  outdoor  laboratory  work  and  play  from 
$100,000,000  to  $200,000,000,  —  nearly  half  the  expense 
of  their  entire  public  school  education,  —  by  learning  and 
utilizing  this  one  species  as  a  beneficent  force  in  nature1 ; 
and  the  effect  will  first  be  felt  in  their  own  gardens. 

As  an  introduction  to  zoology  no  animal  has  a  develop- 
ment better  adapted  for  study.  The  eggs  are  abundant, 
come  at  a  convenient  season,  and  pass  so  rapidly  through 
the  different  transformations  that  even  young  children 
do  not  lose  interest.  Nothing  could  be  better  calculated 
to  open  the  door  of  interest  into  comparative  embryology 
and  zoology.  Then  there  is  the  sleight-of-hand  magic 
of  catching  insects.  Nothing  in  all  the  varied  perform- 
ances of  animals  brings  so  quickly  :  How  did  he  do  it  ? 
What  did  he  do  it  with  ?  Such  questions  open  the 
way  to  comparative  anatomy.  Next  we  have  a  question 
that  will  prove  a  puzzle.  Ask  the  children  if  any  of  them 
ever  saw  a  toad  drink.  How  did  it  drink  ?  Here  we 
have  comparative  physiology.  A  toad  drinks  by  absorbing 
water  through  the  skin. 

Deprive  a  toad  of  water  for  a  day  and  weigh  the  specimen  care- 
fully. Next  let  it  sit  on  a  wet  blotting  paper,  or  pour  a  little  water 
into  its  vivarium,  and,  after  an  hour,  weigh  the  toad  again.  The 
gain  will  represent  water  absorbed. 

1  Riley's  estimate  is  that  insects  cause  from  $300,000,000  to  $400,000,000 
damage  annually. 


2Q2  NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 

Again,  where  do  we  find  a  better  example  of  protective 
coloration,  harmony  with  environment,  and  life  work  ? 
This  is  a  point  of  view  that,  when  once  appreciated,  makes 
interesting  a  thousand  other  things  we  shall  see  in  nature. 
Finally,  the  food  of  the  toad  shows  the  necessity  of  learn- 
ing about  insects  and  their  work.  Entomology  as  a  science 
is  far  too  little  studied  in  this  country. 

On  the  ethical  side,  no  animal  is  more  apt  to  be  griev- 
ously abused  by  the  children.  Experience  has  shown  that 
a  little  instruction  of  the  right  kind  wholly  does  away  with 
this  and  makes  them  its  most  sturdy  protectors.  What 
child  could  ever  again  harm  a  toad  after  watching  it  catch 
insects  for  an  hour,  or  after  raising  a  few  from  the  egg  P1 
The  study  may  thus  yield  the  best  kind  of  moral  culture. 

Early  in  April,  as  I  was  vigorously  hoeing  in  a  corner,  I 
unearthed  a  huge  toad,  to  my  perfect  delight  and  satisfaction ;  he 

1  My  attention  to  this  subject,  and,  in  fact,  to  nature  study  in  general, 
was  aroused  by  the  wholesale  killing  of  toads  when  they  came  to  the  ponds 
to  lay  their  eggs.  While  walking  once  around  a  small  pond  I  counted  200 
dead  or  mangled  and  struggling  in  the  water,  and  learned  next  day  that  two 
boys  had  killed  300  more,  carrying  them  off  in  an  old  milk  can  to  empty 
on  a  man's  doorstep.  This  500  does  not  represent  probably  one-tenth  of 
the  number  killed  by  the  children  that  spring  (1897)  around  this  one  pond. 
A  "  civilization  "  in  which  such  abuses  of  nature  are  possible  ought  to  be 
eaten  alive  by  insects,  and  something  must  be  fundamentally  wrong  with  a 
system  of  public  education  that  does  not  render  such  a  thing  impossible. 
My  first  impulse  was  to  get  a  law  passed  and  appeal  to  the  police,  but  the 
wiser  counsel  of  a  friend  prevailed,  and  I  was  induced  to  try  education  of  the 
children  instead.  Accordingly,  a  prize  of  $10  was  offered  to  the  Worcester 
school  child  who  would  make  the  best  practical  study  of  the  "  Value  of  the 
Common  Toad."  This  was  offered  March  31,  1898,  and  there  was  no 
evidence  that  a  single  toad  was  harmed  at  the  pond  the  following  April 
and  May.  I  would  have  been  well  satisfied  had  such  a  result  been  attained 
in  five  years.  The  fact  that  it  came  within  thirty  days  reveals  the  possibility 
of  nature  study  when  united  to  human  interest. 


INSECTIVOROUS    ANIMALS  293 

had  lived  all  winter,  he  had  doubtless  fed  on  slugs  all  the  autumn. 
I  could  have  kissed  him  on  the  spot  !  Very  carefully  I  placed  him 
in  the  middle  of  a  large  green  clump  of  tender  columbine.  He  really 
was  n't  more  than  half  awake,  after  his  long  winter  nap,  but  he  was 
alive  and  well,  and  when  later  I  went  to  look  for  him,  lo  !  he  had 
crept  off,  perhaps  to  snuggle  into  the  earth  once  more  for  another 
nap,  till  the  sun  should  have  a  little  more  power. 

To  our  great  joy  the  frogs  that  we  imported  last  year  are  also 
alive.  We  heard  the  soft  rippling  of  their  voices  with  the  utmost 
pleasure  ;  it  is  a  lovely  liquid-sweet  sound.  They  have  not  lived 
over  winter  here  before.  We  feared  that  the  vicinity  of  so  much 
salt  water  might  be  injurious  to  them,  but  this  year  they  have 
survived,  and  perhaps  they  may  be  established  for  good.  CELIA 
THAXTER,  An  Island  Garden,  p.  56. 

For  four  hundred  years  we  have  not  added  a  single 
animal  to  our  list  of  domesticated  species.  The  turkey 
was  taken  to  Europe  and  domesticated  soon  after  the  dis- 
covery of  America,  and  while  ostrich  farming  is  in  its 
experimental  stages,  Professor  Shaler  seems  inclined  to 
consider  this  our  last  assured  conquest  over  wild  nature. 

From  this  point  of  view  our  domesticated  creatures  should  be 
presented  to  our  people,  with  the  purpose  in  mind  of  bringing  them 
to  see  that  the  process  of  domestication  has  a  far-reaching  aspect, 
a  dignity,  we  may  fairly  say  a  grandeur,  that  few  human  actions 
possess.  SHALER,  Domesticated  Animals,  p.  8. 

In  a  large  way  the  work  of  domestication  represents  one  of  the 
modes  of  action  of  that  sympathetic  motive  which  more  than  any 
other  has  been  the  basis  of  the  highest  development  of  mankind. 
Ibid.,  p.  22  r. 

Thus  we  see  that  to  domesticate  an  animal  species  is  no 
mean  work  with  which  to  begin  a  century. 

The  toad  has  come  more  than  halfway,  to  man's 
doorstep  in  fact,  to  escape  its  natural  enemies  and 


294 


NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 


demonstrate  its  usefulness.  To  complete  the  process  of 
domestication  it  is  only  necessary  to  develop  the  intel- 
ligence and  sympathy  that  shall  afford  it  universal  pro- 
tection. In  addition,  before  considering  a  species  a  full 
member  of  the  human  household,  it  is  generally  neces- 
sary to  discover  means  of  breeding  it  .in  confinement  or 
under  human  control.  With  this  condition  met,  in  the 
manner  already  described,  there  will  remain  no  doubt  that 
we  have  added  a  new  and  important  species  to  the  domes- 
ticated animals  of  this  country. 


CHAPTER  XVII 
COMMON  FROGS  AND  SALAMANDERS 

How  many  different  kinds  of  toads  and  frogs  do  we 
know  ?  Encourage  the  children  to  bring  in  as  many 
kinds  as  they  can  find,  and  stufly  and  compare  them  a 
little  as  to  size,  color  and  markings,  habits  and  habitats. 
Learn  their  different  notes,  make  feeding  tests  with  each, 
study  the  season  of  spawning  and  the  characteristic  appear- 
ance of  the  eggs  and,  in  a  word,  since  they  are  all  good 
friends,  begin  to  make  their  acquaintance. 

And  first,  I  wonder  how  many  know  the  difference 
between  a  frog  and  a  toad.  Aside  from  mere  outward 
appearances,  form,  warty  skin,  colors,  etc.,  which  are 
not  very  constant,  one  of  the  prime  differences  is  that 
toads  have  no  teeth  on  their  lower  jaws,  while  the  fro'gs 
always  do.  Here  is  a  little  matter  of  the  common  use  of 
the  English  language  that  might  as  well  be  set  right  in 
the  beginning.  It  is  as  easy  to  say  "tree  frog"  as  it  is 
to  say  "tree  toad,"  and  since  they  are  all  frogs  we  may 
as  well  call  them  so.  In  case  of  doubt,  gently  open  the 
mouth  and  pass  a  finger  along  the  lower  jaw,  and  if  teeth 
are  present,  we  will  call  it  a  frog,  if  not,  a  toad. 

Our  froglike  animals  are  further  divided  into  two  great 
classes  :  those  in  which  the  adults  have  tails,  and  those 
that  have  none.  Here  is  another  little  matter  of  good 
English  that  we  may  learn  rightly  to  begin  with. 
Our  long-tailed  Batrachia  (frogs  and  salamanders)  are 

295 


296  NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 

commonly  called  lizards.  But  lizards  are  always  covered 
with  horny  scales,  somewhat  like  the  skin  of  a  snake.  We 
have  no  common  lizards  in  the  northern  states,  although 
they  are  numerous  farther  south.  The  little  chameleon 
and  the  "horned  toad,"  often  brought  north  as  curiosities, 
are  lizards.  Possibly  one  of  the  children  has  a  specimen 
and  can  bring  it  to  school  to  make  this  difference  clear. 
Lizards  and  salamanders  are  shaped  much  alike,  but  if  the 
skin  is  smooth,  like  that  of  a  frog,  we  will  call  the  animal 
a  salamander  or  newt,  not  a  lizard. 

Taking  our  study  of  the  toad  as  the  life  type,  we  may 
apply  similar  methods  to  investigating  any  frogs  and  sala- 
manders ;  and  we  will  choose  such  as  are  most  worthy  of 
our  study.  This  is  a  great  field,  almost  wholly  unknown. 
Any  feeding  test  with  one  of  these  animals,  by  using  a 
variety  of  insects,  is  likely  to  yield  knowledge  to  the  class 
that  is  valuable  and  that  no  one  else  in  the  world  knows. 
It  is  safe  to  say  that  all  these  animals  are  harmless,  i.e., 
not  venomous  or  likely  to  injure  by  biting ;  that,  with  one 
or  two  exceptions  to  be  noted  below,  they  are  all  valuable 
insect  destroyers,  each  for  its  peculiar  haunts ;  and  that 
they  should  be  generally  protected  and  utilized  as  benefi- 
cent forces  in  nature.  It  is  with  this  point  in  view  that 
the  general  study  of  them  is  advocated  ;  that  as  each  fact 
—  their  harmlessness,  their  usefulness,  their  varied  beau- 
ties, their  interesting  ways  and  lives  —  comes  to  be  gener- 
ally known  and  appreciated  they  may  be  treated  from 
motives  of  conscience  and  humanity  rather  than  from 
those  of  ignorance  and  prejudice. 

In  order  to  start  the  children  intelligently  on  these 
interesting  researches,  I  shall  give,  in  scarcely  more  than 


COMMON    FROGS    AND    SALAMANDERS  297 

tabulated  form,  descriptions  and  suggestions  of  a  few  of 
our  commonest  species.  Naturally  a  species  may  be  com- 
mon in  one  locality  and  not  in  others,  but  it  is  intended 
that  the  pupils  should  spend  their  time  learning  the  life 
stories  of  what  they  have  rather  than  in  hunting  for  what 
they  have  not.  The  table  thus  aims  to  aid  in  naming 
forms  that  may  be  brought  in  rather  than  to  suggest  what 
to  hunt  for,  and  the  scientific  names  are  inserted  in  order 
to  facilitate  reference  to  special  books,  not  to  be  learned 
by  the  children  or  teacher. 

TOADS,  FROGS,  AND,  SALAMANDERS 
Batrachia 

TOADS,  Bufo.     Jaws  toothless,  skin  generally  warty.     Genera  three, 

species  thirty ;  found  in  all  parts  of  the  world  except  Australia. 
Common  Toad,  B.  lentiginosus.  Variety  of  northern  form,  ameri- 
canus.  Very  variable;  adults  warty;  young  almost  smooth. 
Note  a  prolonged  trill,  uttered  by  the  males  during  the  breeding 
season,  April  and  May,  sometimes  also  in  July.  Food :  insects, 
spiders,  millipeds,  slugs,  and  worms.  Feeding  habit  chiefly 
nocturnal.  Does  not  eat  young  of  its  own  species.1 

FROGS,  Rana.  Skin  smooth  ;  toes  and  fingers  fully  webbed  ;  maxil- 
lary and  generally  vomerine  teeth  ;  chiefly  aquatic.  Genera  four- 
teen, species  about  fifty.  Eggs  are  laid  in  masses  of  gelatinous 
matter. 

Common  Frog,  Leopard  Frog,  R.  virescens.  Greenish,  sometimes 
brassy,  above,  with  light-edged  dark  spots  arranged  in  two  irregu- 
lar rows  along  the  back ;  beneath,  pearly  white  or  yellowish. 

1  This  is  an  interesting  point  to  test.  I  have  found  that  a  toad  will 
snap  a  little  toad,  as  it  will  any  moving  thing;  but  my  experience  has  been 
that  they  always  immediately  open  the  mouth  and  set  the  little  one  free 
uninjured.  I  have  never  seen  an  insect  or  any  other  living  thing  treated  in 
this  way. 


298  NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 

About  three  inches  long.  Our  commonest  and  most  beautiful 
frog.  Note,  a  cluck  much  like  that  of  a  hen  but  more  musical ; 
one  of  the  first  species  heard  in  the  spring.  Eggs  laid  about  as 
soon  as  the  snow  melts  in  the  spring.  Food:  insects  (?). 

Brown  Frog,  Pickerel  Frog,  R.  palustris.  Brown,  spots  squarish 
in  four  rows;  beneath,  yellowish  white.  Length,  three  inches. 
Note,  a  low,  hoarse  croak,  like  the  sound  made  by  tearing 
coarse  cloth.  Spawning  season  is  early  spring.  Habitat,  cold 
springs  and  streams.  This  frog  has  a  somewhat  disagreeable 
odor  and  is  remarkable  for  the  length  of  its  leaps,  being  next 
to  the  most  agile  frog  we  have.  Food:  insects  (?). 

Northern  Frog,  R.  septentrionalis.  Color  above,  olive  with  large 
nearly  circular  blotches  of  brown  ;  whitish  beneath.  Most  vari- 
able of  all  our  frogs.  Body  stout,  about  two  inches  in  length. 
Possesses  a  strong  odor  of  mink.  Inhabits  marshy  waters, 
northern  United  States  and  Canada ;  quite  aquatic.  Feeds  on 
insects  and  small  fishes.  Note  and  spawning  season  not  given 
in  the  books. 

Green  Frog,  R.  clamata.  Color  above,  bright  green,  rarely  brown- 
ish, with  blackish  spots  ;  white  below.  Note,  a  musical  "  Chung  " 
as  it  leaps  into  the  water.  Food  :  insects  ;  otherwise  practically 
unknown.  Spawning  season  not  given  in  the  books. 

Bullfrog,  R.  catesbiana.  Our  largest  North  American  species. 
Color,  greenish  olive  above,  variously  marked  with  dusky 
blotches  ;  below,  white,  often  bright  yellow  under  the  throat. 
The  note  is  a  deep  bass  "  Br'wum,"  "  more  rum  "  or  "  jug  o'  rum," 
heard  so  often  in  the  early  summer  evenings.  The  spawning 
season,  so  far  as  I  have  been  able  to  observe,  is  late  June  and 
July.  The  young  remain  in  the  water  as  tadpoles  at  least  two 
years  and  attain  a  length  of  five  to  eight  inches.  This  is  our 
most  valuable  laboratory  and  edible  frog,  commanding  a  price 
for  these  uses  of  from  one  dollar  to  three  dollars  per  dozen.  It 
can  be  caught  with  a  bit  of  red  flannel  on  a  barbless  fishhook, 
and  this  furnishes  a  legitimate  sport  for  boys,  quite  as  legitimate 
as  any  form  of  fishing.  Care  should  be  taken  not  to  catch  them 
until  after  their  spawning  season  and  to  allow  them  to  reach  a 


COMMON    FROGS    AND    SALAMANDERS  299 

fair  size.  The  open  season  should  not  be  longer  than  August 
and  September.  The  food  of  the  bullfrog  seems  to  be  any  liv- 
ing thing  that  it  can  even  partially  swallow.  I  have  seen  one 
swallow  the  head  end  of  a  live  mud  puppy  fully  twice  the  length 
of  the  frog's  body.  Another  observer  has  recorded  a  similar 
instance  of  the  fate  of  a  young  alligator.  Mice,  birds,  feathers 
and  all,  fishes,  crayfishes,  insects,  worms,  tadpoles,  and  frogs  of 
its  own  and  other  species  are  acceptable,  and  in  this  struggle  size 
may  not  count  for  so  much  as  first  hold.  In  confinement  they 
may  be  fed  on  earthworms,  grasshoppers,  and  other  insects,  and 
it  is  not  beneath  the  dignity  of  the  biggest  of  them  to  sit  all  day 
long  beside  a  bone  and  snap  the  flies  as  they  come. 

Wood  Frog,  R.  sylvatica.  Color,  greenish  to  reddish  brown,  chang- 
ing somewhat  according  to  surroundings  ;  a  dark  band  on  each 
side  of  head  extending  over  the  eye  and  ear  to  insertion  of  arm ; 
legs  obscurely  barred,  and  sides  speckled  with  black.  A  small 
frog  found  commonly  in  the  woods,  scarcely  aquatic,  can  leap 
farther  than  any  other  of  our  frogs.  Its  note  is  a  hoarse  croak, 
heard  in  April,  when  it  comes  down  to  the  ponds  to  spawn. 
Aside  from  the  common  notion  that  it  feeds  on  insects  nothing 
definite  is  known  as  to  its  food. 

SPADEFOOTS,  Scaphiopus.     Terrestrial  frog's  heel  provided  with  a 
spur  for  digging.     Form  toad-like.     Genera  two,  species  four. 

Spadefoot  Frog,  S.  holbrookii.  Length,  three  inches ;  skin  rough  ; 
color,  earthy  or  ashy  brown.  From  all  accounts  these  frogs 
bury  themselves  in  the  earth  during  the  day,  coming  out  to  feed 
at  night,  and,  while  widely  distributed,  are  neither  seen  nor 
heard  except  during  the  spawning  season,  when  they  are  said 
to  be  "noisy  whistlers." 

TREE  FROGS,  Hyla.     Small ;  arboreal ;  fingers  and  toes  with  tips 
expanded  into  clasping  disks.     Genera  ten,  species  sixty. 

Common  Tree  Frog,  H.  versicolor.  Color  above,  green,  gray,  or 
brown,  with  irregular  dark  spots  ;  white  or  yellow  below.  A 
common  inhabitant  of  orchards  and  waysides,  but  a  good  test 


300  NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 

of  any  child's  sharp  eyes  to  find.  Its  note  is  the  musical 
"  Tur-r-r-r-t "  so  often  heard  on  a  summer  evening.  The  eggs 
are  laid  in  May  or  June  in  small  masses  attached  to  stems  of 
weeds  and  grass  in  shallow  pools.  This  is  to  me  the  most  inter- 
esting of  frogs.  It  is  easily  domesticated,  so  that  it  may  be 
carried  about  on  the  finger  from  fly  to  fly.  If  kept  in  a  viva- 
rium and  well  fed,  it  is  said  to  make  an  interesting  barometer, 
climbing  to  the  top  of  its  ladder  in  fair  weather  and  descending 
into  the  water  before  a  storm.  The  distribution  of  these  frogs  is 
one  of  the  greatest  puzzles  I  have  encountered.  I  have  repeatedly 
brought  them  to  the  trees  about  the  house,  where  attractive  pools 
are  provided,  but  they  never  stay  more  than  a  day  or  two.  Why 
they  are  not  more  numerous  is  another  question  for  which  I  have 
found  no  satisfactory  answer. 

Pickering's  Tree  Frog,  H.  pickeringii.  Color  above,  yellowish 
brown,  with  a  dark  X  on  its  back,  by  which  it  may  always  be 
recognized.  These  little  "spring  peepers"  announce  the  very 
first  day  of  spring  with  their  shrill,  clear  whistles,  "  Uh-e-e-t, 
wh-e-e-t,  wh-e-e-t,"  from  the  pools  of  ice  water  in  the  glades 
and  meadows.  One  may  hear  them  all  the  years  of  his  life  but 
never  know  whence  the  sound  comes,  unless  he  puts  on  his 
rubber  boots,  takes  a  lantern  to  the  pool,  and  picks  them  up 
in  the  very  act. 

Little  Tree  Frog,  Chorophilus  triseriatus.  Color,  ashy  gray,  brown, 
or  fawn  color,  with  three  brown  stripes  down  the  back.  Habitat, 
small  pools  in  the  densest  thickets.  Note  resembles  the  low 
jingling  of  sleigh  bells  in  the  distance.  Range  is  given  as  east- 
ern United  States,  south  of  central  New  Jersey,  and  westward. 

CRICKET  FROGS,  Acris.     Small ;  not  arboreal.     Genus  one,  species 
one ;  with  regional  variations. 

Cricket  Frog,  A .  gryllus.  Color  above,  brown  or  gray,  readily  ch  ang- 
ing,  a  dark  triangle  between  the  eyes,  the  apex  pointing  back- 
ward and  continued  down  the  middle  line  as  a  light  stripe  ;  three 
large  oblique  blotches  on  the  sides ;  a  dark  (or  white)  line  from 
eye  across  the  eardrum.  Its  note  may  be  imitated  by  striking 


COMMON    FROGS    AND    SALAMANDERS  301 

two  marbles  together  twenty  or  thirty  times,  at  first  slowly,  then 
rapidly.  It  inhabits  the  weeds,  the  tall  grass,  and  bushes  of 
muddy  shores.  No  good  account  is  given  of  its  foods,  breeding 
season,  or  habits. 

Both  the  time  and  place  of  spawning  for  most  of  our 
species  of  frogs  and  toads  is  best  indicated  by  their  music. 

SALAMANDERS,  Urodela.  Smooth,  elongated  bodies  ;  four  limbs  ; 
long  tails ;  no  external  gills  when  adult.  Sixteen  genera  and 
fifty-three  American  species. 

Newts,  Diemyctylus  viridescens.  Color  above,  olive  green,  vari- 
able; a  row  of  black-bordered  vermilion  spots  on  each  side; 
below,  yellowish  dotted  with  black.  The  tail  is  flattened  and 
has  finlike  expansions  of  skin  above  and  below.  This  descrip- 
tion applies  to  the  adult  form  of  our  common  newt  during  the 
breeding  season  or  while  it  is  in  the  water.  Found  under  stones 
and  under  logs  out  of  the  water,  this  newt  (formerly  classed  as  a 
distinct  species,  D.  miniatus)  is  vermilion  red  above,  paler  or 
yellowish  below;  spots  arranged  as  in  the  breeding  form;  tail 
fins  absent.  As  these  newts  have  been  kept  in  confinement  by 
a  number  of  different  people  and  have  been  observed  to  change 
from  one  form  to  the  other  under  varied  conditions,  there  can  be 
no  further  doubt  that  they  are  one  and  the  same  species,  the 
different  forms  and  colors  depending  possibly  on  condition  of 
maturity  or  on  seasonal  changes.  The  red  form  should  be  kept 
in  a  damp,  mossy  vivarium  with  a  pool  or  dish  of  water  sunk 
level  with  the  ground  at  one  end.  The  green  form  may  be  kept 
in  an  ordinary  aquarium,  covered  to  prevent  its  escape,  and  pro- 
vided with  floats  of  bark  or  cork,  upon  which  it  may  rest.  Both 
forms  may  be  fed  on  worms  or  insects  or  small  bits  of  raw  meat. 
Valuable  feeding  tests  may  thus  be  made,  since  we  know  very 
little  of  the  newt's  feeding  habits.  It  is  especially  instructive  to 
see  them  eat  mosquitoes  and  mosquito  wrigglers  in  the  water. 
The  egg-laying  season  extends  from  April  to  July,  and  the  eggs 
are  laid  singly,  securely  glued  to  and  hidden  within  little  tufts 
of  aquatic  leaves  which  the  female  carefully  draws  together 


302  NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 

around  the  egg  as  it  is  deposited.     The  egg  is  brown,  about  the 
size  of  a  toad's  egg. 

Red-Backed  Salamander,  Plethodon  erythronotus.  Body  slender, 
about  three  inches  long ;  lead  colored,  with  a  broad  reddish 
dorsal  band,  which  varies  greatly  in  color  or  may  be  absent. 
This  is  our  most  common  salamander ;  it  is  found  under  stones 
and  logs  or  beneath  the  bark  of  decaying  stumps,  and,  unlike  the 
forms  thus  far  noted,  its  eggs  are  laid  in  these  places  and  not  in 
the  water,  and  are  watched  over  by  the  parent.  Who  can  tell 
us  at  what  season  the  eggs  are  laid  ?  The  food  is  insects  and 
their  larvae. 

Red  Triton,  Spelerpes  ruber.  Length,  five  to  six  inches ;  color, 
vermilion  to  dark  salmon  red,  spotted  with  brown.  No  account 
is  given  of  its  eggs  or  breeding  season-.  This  is  the  triton  that 
John  Burroughs  describes  (Pepacton,  Chapter  V)  as  making 
"  more  music  in  the  woods  in  autumn  than  any  bird."  The 
note  is  said  to  resemble  that  of  Pickering's  Hyla,  only  not  so 
loud.  No  other  naturalist,  so  far  as  I  can  learn,  has  succeeded 
in  hearing  it.  Its  haunts  are  springs  and  rocky  streams,  where 
it  may  be  found  by  turning  over  the  stones.  In  rainy  weather 
it  makes  excursions  on  land. 

Spotted  Salamander,  Amblystoma  punctatum.  Length,  six  to  seven 
inches ;  color,  black  above,  with  a  series  of  yellow  spots  on  each 
side  of  back.  Eggs  of  the  spotted  salamander  will  often  be 
brought  in  by  the  children.  They  are  found  in  the  icy  pools 
and  ditches  of  early  spring  (March  to  April,  according  to  season 
and  latitude),  large,  oblong,  cylindrical  masses  of  rather  tough 
jelly.  They  are  transparent,  and  within  the  mass  may  be  seen 
the  clear,  spherical  oval,  about  one-quarter  of  an  inch  in  diameter, 
each  one  containing  a  dark-brown  yolk.  This  will  prove  a  most 
instructive  object  to  watch  for  the  next  three  or  four  weeks. 

PROTEANS,  Mud  Puppies,  Proteida.  Medium-  to  large-sized  ani- 
mals, shaped  like  salamanders  but  thoroughly  aquatic  and 
provided  with  external  gills.  One  American  genus  with  two 
species. 


COMMON    FROGS    AND    SALAMANDERS  303 

Mud  Puppy,  or  Water  Dog,  Necturus  maculatus.  Length,  ten 
inches  to  two  feet;  color,  dusky  brown,  more  or  less  mottled. 
Breeding  season,  early  spring  (?).  Necturus  has  the  reputation 
of  following  fishes  to  their  spawning  grounds  in  order  to  eat  the 
eggs  and  young. 

We  have  noted  but  five  of  the  fifty  salamanders,  but 
this  will  be  sufficient  for  a  beginning.  In  trying  to  keep 
them  in  confinement  we  must  remember  that  some  are 
aquatic,  some  terrestrial,  and  some  both ;  and  we  must  be 
careful  to  note  the  haunts  of  any  common  species  we  wish 
to  study  and  render  our  vivarium  as  much  like  its  normal 
environment  as  possible.  I  must  repeat  that  the  above 
forms  are  not  described  in  order  that  they  should  be 
"  learned,"  but  solely  to  help  toward  an  acquaintance 
with  these  and  similar  forms,  to  the  end  that  intelligent 
sympathy  may  take  the  place  of  ignorant  fear. 


FIG.  118.    AN  INVITATION  TO  THE  BIRDS 


3°4 


CHAPTER    XVIII 

OUR   COMMON   BIRDS 

THEIR  LIFE,  WORK,  AND  NATURAL  ENEMIES 

Beloved  of  children,  bards  and  Spring, 

O  birds,  your  perfect  virtues  bring, 

Your  song,  your  forms,  your  rhythmic  flight, 

Your  manners  for  the  heart's  delight, 

Nestle  in  hedge,  or  barn,  or  roof, 

Here  weave  your  chamber  weather-proof, 

Forgive  our  harms,  and  condescend 

To  man,  as  to  a  lubber  friend, 

And,  generous,  teach  his  awkward  race 

Courage  and  probity  and  grace ! 

EMERSON,  May-Day, 

BIRD  study  is  no  trifling  fad.  Our  bird  life  represents 
a  public  property,  protected  by  laws  that  are  beginning  to 
be  respected  and  enforced.  We  may  begin  again  with 
a  few  oral  or  written  language  lessons  to  find  out  how 
many  birds  the  children  know  and  what  they  have  already 
learned  about  them. 

There  are  so  many  books  devoted  to  describing  and 
identifying  birds,  and  all  the  species  which  we  wish  to 
study  are  so  common,  that  we  may  omit  the  descriptive 
side.  In  fact,  I  should  relegate  the  whole  subject  of 
bird  nature  study  to  some  one  of  the  excellent  books  we 
already  have  were  it  not  for  the  fact  that,  with  all  our 
books  and  all  our  birds,  year  by  year  boys  and  girls  are 
passing  through  our  schools  who  are  not  able  to  recognize 

305, 


306  NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 

even  our  commonest  species,  and  what  is  worse,  do  not 
care  to  learn  or  know  anything  about  them.  This  means 
that,  excellent  as  our  bird  books  are,  there  is  something 
lacking ;  and  it  is  in  the  hope  of  supplying  two  vital  rela- 
tions between  child  life  and  bird  life  that  the  following 
pages  are  written.  We  must  teach  the  children  the 
human  value  and  importance  of  birds.  We  must  suggest 
things  for  them  to  do  which  shall  help  and  increase  the 
bird  life  about  their  homes. 

Up  to  within  a  few  years  the  usual  methods  of  studying 
birds  consisted  in  mounting,  preparing  skins,  and  making 
collections  of  nests  and  eggs.  More  recently  we  have 
come  to  know  that  birds  are  too  valuable  to  be  used  in 
this  way,  and  the  opera  glass  and  camera  have  to  some 
extent  happily  displaced  the  gun.  But,  in  general,  we 
are  in  the  negative  phase  expressed  by  a  sentence  from 
one  of  the  best  outlines  of  the  course  of  study  for  a  city 
school  rf  Insist  that  no  boy  or  girl  destroy  a  bird  or  its 
nest.  Negative  effort  is  uninteresting  and,  at  best,  little 
more  than  a  suggestion  to  do  the  thing  prohibited.  In 
the  same  time  we  can  much  more  easily  teach,  on  the 
positive  side,  work  that  the  children  will  enjoy  doing  and 
that  will  make  abuse  of  bird  life  impossible. 

The  important  question  is  :  What  do  birds  do  in  the 
world  ?  About  this  point  center  all  our  laws  for  bird  pro- 
tection. We  must  first  gain,  by  observation  and  personal 
acquaintance  with  the  living  birds  of  each  species,  a 
knowledge  of  their  ways,  their  foods,  their  beauties,  and 
their  songs.  Then  give  the  imagination  full  play  to 
picture  what  the  whole  species  is  doing  in  every  farm 
and  garden  and  about  every  home  in  the  land.  Think 


OUR    COMMON    BIRDS 


307 


of  the  millions  of  beautiful  wings  and  building  nests  and 
eating  bills  and  singing  throats.  Aside  from  their  intel- 
lectual and  aesthetic  values  the  paramount  service  of  the 
birds  lies  in  their  power  to 
destroy  insects.  For  this 
work  we  have  a  vast  mech- 
anism in  nature,  an  army 
plastic  almost  as  air,  on 
wings,  powerful  and  beauti- 
ful, able  to  carry  their  fly- 
ing squadrons  hundreds  and 
even  thousands  of  miles 
whither  food  abounds  and 
insects  threaten  destruction 
to  vegetation. 

In  studying  living  things 
we  should  bear  in  mind  the 
truth,  stated  often  in  these 
words  :  As  long  as  there  is  life  there  is  hope.  In  every- 
thing that  lives  there  are  infinite  possibilities.  No  seed  or 
egg  is  so  tiny  but  that  it  may  hide  the  possibility  of  cover- 
ing the  world  with  forms 
of  its  kind  in  an  incred- 
ibly short  time.  A  pair 
of  bird's  eggs,  with  proper 
care  by  the  children,  could 
produce  in  ten  years  a  pair 
of  birds  for  every  child  in 
the  land.  Let  us  consider  for  a  moment  the  possibilities 
that  lie  hidden  within  the  blue  shells  of  a  pair  of 
robin's  eggs.  Allowing  that  ten  young  may  be  produced 


Think,  every  morning  when  the  sun  peeps 

through 

The  dim,  leaf-latticed  windows  of  the  grove, 
How  jubilant  the  happy  birds  renew 
Their  old,  melodious  madrigals  of  love  ! 
And  when  you  think  of  this,  remember  too 
'Tis  always  morning  somewhere,  and  above 
The  awakening  continents,  from   shore   to 

shore, 
Somewhere  the  birds  are  singing,  evermore. 

The  summer  came,  and  all  the  birds  were 

dead ;      , 
The  days  were   like   hot    coals ;    the   very 

ground 

Was  burned  to  ashes ;  in  the  orchards  fed 
Myriads  of  caterpillars,  and  around 
The  cultivated  fields  and  garden  beds 
Hosts  of   devouring    insects  crawled,  and 

found 
No  foe  to  check  their  march,  till  they  had 

made 
The  land  a  desert  without  leaf  or  shade. 

LONGFELLOW,  Birds  of  Killingivorth. 


A  bird  came  down  the  walk  : 
He  didn't  know  I  saw  ; 
He  bit  an  angleworm  in  halves 
And  ate  the  fellow,  raw. 

And  then  he  drank  a  dew 

From  a  convenient  grass, 

And  then  hopped  sideways  to  the  wall 

To  let  a  beetle  pass. 

EMILY  DICKINSON,  Poems,  p.  140. 


3o8 


NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 


by  a  pair  each  year,  and  that  the  life  of  a  robin  is  ten 
years,  we  shall  have  : 


2d 

3d 
4th 
5th 
6th 
7th 
8th 
9th 
loth 
50th 
looth 

»       (12   -f      60)    . 

72         " 

«       (j  i   _|_   -560^ 

4j- 

-7     CO''                 " 

(4 

-ov- 

H 

« 

ccoS?''        " 

« 

ojy'0/  ~ 

u 

-7Q  I  C  C  7Q'7          " 

|( 

.   .   .  120,932,352     " 

300,000,000,000,000       " 

)O,OOO,OOO,OOO,OOO,OOO,OOO,- 

50,000,000  robins. 

"         i  ,6  1  6,400,000,000,000,000,000,000,1 

"          I,32O,OOO,OOO,OOO,OOO,OOO,OOO,OOO,OC 

ooo,ooo,ooo,ooo,ooo,ooo,ooo,ooo,oc 

FIG.  119.    YOUNG  ROBINS  Two  DAYS  OLD 


If  we  do  not  have  all 
the  robins  we  want  (and 
this  applies  to  any  living 
thing)  it  is  because  we 
do  not  know  enough 
about  rearing  them  or 
are  not  willing  to  act  in 
accordance  with  our 
knowledge. 

In  addition  to  this 
infinite  power  of  multi- 
plication we  must  never 
lose  sight  of  another 
law  of  biology,  viz.,  that 
every  living  thing  pos- 
sesses possibilities  of 
development  and  im- 
provement. No  one  has 


OUR    COMMON    BIRDS  309 

yet  produced  the  best  and  most  beautiful  rose  or  peach 
or  bird  or  man  or  anything  else  that  the  world  is  capable 
of  yielding.  By  proper  care  we  can  have  a  world  full  not 

Only     Of     SUCh     birds     as     We        The  winds  blow  east,  the  winds  blow  west, 
,  r  i   •     i  -,1  The  blue  eggs  in  the  robin's  nest 

have  now,  but  of  birds  with  wm  soon  have  wings  and  beak  and  breast, 
sweeter  and  sweeter  song  And  flutter  and  fly  away"  LoNGFEL  LOW: 
and  more  and  more  beautiful  plumage.  And  in  presence 
of  these  infinite  possibilities  for  good  or  for  ill  we  must 
above  all  things  remember  that  every  human  action  tends 
to  make  the  world  a  garden  To  produce  and  multiply  endlessly>  with. 
or  a  desert,  a  paradise  of  out  f,ver  reachins  uthe  last  possibility  of 

excellence,  and  without  committing  herself 
joy     and      beauty    Or      a     Vale         to  any  end,  is  the  law  of  Nature. 

c  BURROUGHS,  Birds  and  Poets,  p.  156. 

of  tears. 

If  our  birds  felt  a  sense  of  security  in  our  presence,  they 
might  sing  even  more  sweetly  and  more  abundantly  than 
they  do  now.  Indeed,  Burroughs  remarks  of  English  birds  : 
-  They  sing  with  more  con-  Wood  birds  here  are  house  and  garden 
fidence  and  copiousness,  and  birds  there  [Ens-]. 

BURROUGHS,  Fresh  Fields,  p.  136. 

as    if   they,  too,  had    been 

touched  by  civilization."  They  sing  more  hours  in  the 
day  and  more  days  in  the  year.  Furthermore,  if  our 
birds  were  uniformly  safe  Many  haps  fail  in  the  field 

>  i  Seldom  seen  by  wishful  eyes  ; 

in   mans  presence  and   un-      But  all  her  shows  did  Nature  yield> 

disturbed,   they   WOUld    COme        To  please  and  win  this  pilgrim  wise. 

J  He  saw  the  partridge  drum  in  the  woods; 

mUCll    Closer    tO    US,    aS    they         He  heard  the  woodcock's  evening  hymn  ; 

He  found  the  tawny  thrushes'  broods  ; 

did  to  Thoreau,  and  to  Celia     And  the  shy  hawk  did  wait  for  him  ; 

,  ,  What  others  did  at  distance  hear, 

in      her      garden.         And  guessed  within  the  thicket's  gloom, 


With  proper  care  many  of 
our  best  songsters  and  most  EMERSON,  woodnotes,  i,  2. 

useful  birds  that  are  now  rare  might  become  more  common, 
filling  our  parks  and  the  thickly  planted  portions  of  our 


310  NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 

towns,  and  even  cities;  and  with  more  caution  than  pre- 
ceded the  introduction  of  the  English  sparrow,  we  might 
bring  about  our  homes  the  most  beautiful  songsters  of 
other  lands.  But  the  safer  and  wiser  course  will  be  to 
begin  by  making  the  most  of  our  native  birds.  These  are  a 
heritage  infinitely  rich,  developed  through  geological  epochs 
to  fit  exactly  all  the  conditions  of  life  on  this  continent. 
It  is  no  light  matter  to  disturb  this  living  harmony,  as  our 
experience  with  the  English  sparrow  bears  testimony. 

With  this  wonderful  power  of  increase  the  questions 
naturally  arise  :  Why  do  we  not  have  many  more  birds 
than  we  find  about  us  ?  Why  have  we  not  hundreds  where 
we  have  but  one  ?  Has  the  natural  limit  been  already 
reached,  so  that  attempts  to  increase  the  numbers  would 
be  useless  ?  All  such  questions  open  important  fields  for 
observation  and  study.  Food  supply  for  all  seasons  of 
the  year  is  the  main  factor  in  this  series  of  problems. 
This  will  be  considered  in  a  section  by  itself.  The  next 
factors  are  natural  enemies  of  bird  life.  In  connection 
with  each  element  in  nature  which  tends  to  decrease  our 
valuable  bird  life,  we  should  endeavor  to  discover  the 
means  of  preventing  its  operation.  That  this  matter  is 
now  a  national  exigency,  in  the  careful  study  of  which 
every  patriotic  citizen  and  every  school  child  should  par- 
ticipate, may  be  duly  appreciated  by  referring  to  William 
T.  Hornaday's  recent  paper1  on  the  destruction  of  our 
birds  and  mammals.  We  learn  from  this  that  during  the 

1  William  T.  Hornaday,  Director  of  the  New  York  Zoological  Park. 
"  The  Destruction  of  our  Birds  and  Mammals,"  Second  Annual  Report, 
New  York  Zoological  Society.  New  York,  1898.  Office  of  the  Society, 
69  Wall  Street. 


OUR    COMMON    BIRDS 


past  fifteen  years  our  birds  have  decreased  46  per  cent  in 
thirty  states  and  territories.  For  each  of  the  states  named 
this  decrease  has  been  as  stated  in  the  margin.  Three 
states  —  North  Carolina,  Oregon,  and  California  —  show 
neither  increase  nor  decrease ;  and  only  four  states  — 
Kansas,  Wyoming,  Wash- 
ington, and  Utah  -  -  have 
had  an  increase  of  bird  life. 
It  would  be  a  worthy  am- 
bition to  infuse  into  our 
school  system,  reaching,  as 
it  does,  the  life  and  heart 
of  every  child,  the  purpose 
to  change  this  destructive 
process  to  one  of  increase 
in  every  county,  farm,  and 
city  lot  of  the  land. 

Climatic  influences  are 
severe  in  this  country. 
Great  numbers  of  birds* are 
killed  in  heavy  rain  and 
hailstorms.  Whole  species 
are  decimated  in  sleet  and 
snowstorms  within  the 

range  of  their  southern  migrations.  Thus  our  bluebirds 
were  killed  off  in  1895,  and  fearful  havoc  was  wrought 
in  a  number  of  our  most  valuable  species  in  the  Southern 
States  during  the  winter  of  1898-1899.  With  these  ele- 
ments it  is  difficult  to  contend.  To  what  extent  man  is 
responsible  by  reason  of  clearing  out  natural  shelter  and 
destroying  natural  food  supplies  it  is  impossible  to  say. 


Maine 52% 

New  Hampshire 32 

Vermont .30 

Massachusetts 27 

Rhode  Island 60 

Connecticut -.     .     .  75 

New  York 48 

New  Jersey 37 

Pennsylvania 51 

Ohio 38 

Indiana 60 

Illinois 38 

Michigan 23 

Wisconsin 40 

Iowa 37 

Missouri 36 

Nebraska 10 

North  Dakota 58 

District  of  Columbia 33 

South  Carolina 32 

Georgia 65 

Florida 77 

Mississippi •     •     •  37 

Louisiana 55 

Arkansas 50 

Texas 67 

Indian  Territory 75 

Montana 75 

Colorado 28 

Idaho 40 

Average 46 


312  NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 

Again,  in  times  of  great  drought  in  regions  where  our 
common  species  breed,  both  food  and  water  may  become 
so  scarce  that  numbers  of  nestlings  famish  or  starve.  The 
birds  then  are  loath  to  desert  their  nests  to  go  to  regions 
of  plenty.  If  birds  were  tamed  sufficiently  to  come  to 
man  as  their  friend  in  times  of  great  need,  as  they  do  in 
rare  cases  now,  and  as  they  learned  to  come  to  Mrs. 
Brightwen,  a  little  food  and  shelter  might  tide  them  over 
the  hard  time,  and  their  service  afterwards  would  repay 
the  outlay  a  thousandfold.  About  the  house  and  barn 
and  shade  trees  safe  places  of  shelter  might  save  great 
numbers  of  birds  every  year,  due  care  being  exercised  to 
keep  them  clear  of  English  sparrows  and  place  them  out 
of  the  reach  of  cats. 

Cats  are  generally  recognized  as  the  worst  enemies  of 
our  native  birds.1  Professor  Forbush  has  estimated  that 
a  cat  is  responsible  on  the  average  for  the  death  of  about 
fifty  song  birds  a  year ;  and  one  cat,  to  his  knowledge, 
destroyed  six  bird's-nests  in  a  single  day.  In  connection 
with  their  bird  work  the  children  "should  be  encouraged  to 
gather  all  the  evidence  they  can  for  their  district ;  they 
will  then  be  more  willing  to  choose  other  pets.  All  the 
wild,  stray,  or  worthless  cats  of  a  neighborhood  should  be 
destroyed,  as  a  mercy  not  only  to  the  birds  but  to  the 
cats  themselves.  People  who  have  cats  that  they  value, 
ought,  for  love  of  nature,  to  see  to  it  that  they  are  provided 
with  other  food  than  young  robins,  orioles,  thrushes,  and 
song  sparrows.  Much  may  be  done  by  way  of  training 
cats  to  let  birds  alone,  and  lastly,  they  should  be  kept  in 

1  "  The  foremost  place  among  all  song  bird  destroyers,  as  we  have  already 
said,  must  be  assigned  to  the  house  cat,"  LANGE. 


OUR    COMMON    BIRDS  313 

as  much  as  possible  at  times  when  young  birds  in  the 
neighborhood  are  learning  to  fly.1 

Next  to  the  cat  the  English  sparrow  is  responsible  for 
great  decrease  among  certain  of  our  native  birds,  espe- 
cially of  some  of  our  most  useful  and  desirable  species 
about  the  cities  and  towns.  This  is  the  obstacle  that 
blocks  the  way  of  younger  children  in  doing  effective 
work  for  our  native  birds.  They  put  out  food  in  winter 
and  we  ask  :  "  What  birds  came  for  it  ?  "  "  English  spar- 
rows." They  arrange  drinking  fountains.  "  Do  the  birds 
come  ?  "  "  Yes,  English  sparrows."  They  build  nest 
boxes.  "  What  birds  do  they  have  in  them  ?  "  "  English 
sparrows."  If  other  birds  come, v  the  sparrows  will  mob 
them.  They  will  break  up  the  nests  and  devour  the  eggs 
of  our  robins,  bluebirds,  wrens,  tree  swallows  and  mar- 
tins, song  sparrows  and  vireos,  and  the  children's  work 
results  in  increasing  this  "ruffian  in  feathers,"  "a  bird 
too  pestiferous  to  mention."  The  sparrows  begin  nest- 
ing in  February  or  March,  thus  preempting  available  bird 
houses  before  the  native  birds  arrive,  and  rearing,  as  they 
do,  five  or  six  broods  a  season,  they  increase  with  incred- 
ible rapidity.  It  has  been  estimated  that  a  pair  in  ten 
years  might  produce  275,716,983,698  sparrows.2  What 

1  On  a  farm  from  which  the  cats  were  banished  increase  of  birds  was 
so  great  the  following  year  as   to  cause  general  remark  among  the  neigh- 
bors.    Rats  and  mice,  for  destruction  of  which  cats  are  sometimes  kept, 
can  certainly  be  more  effectively  dealt  with  by  intelligent  use  of  poisons 
and  traps.      Since   not  one   of  these   vermin  should  be  allowed  on  the 
premises,  this  argument  for  the  cat  does  not  hold. 

2  "  The  English  Sparrow  in  North  America,"  Bulletin  No.  i,  United  States 
Department  of  Agriculture,  ought  to  be  accessible  for  reference  to  every  class 
in  nature  study.     The  summing  up  of  all  the  evidence  is  in  part  as  follows  : 
"  The  English  sparrow  is  a  curse  of  such  virulence  that  it  ought  to  be. 


314  NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 

are  we  to  do  with  this  enemy  of  our  valuable  native  birds  ? 
So  many  differences  of  opinion  and  so  many  delicate 
points  of  sentiment,  morals,  and  pedagogy  are  involved  in 
answering  this  question  that  all  a  teacher  can  do  is  to 
lead  the  children  to  observe  and  study  the  facts  as  they 
occur  about  their  homes,  and  then  leave  the  solution  of 

attacked  and  destroyed  before  it  becomes  necessary  to  deplete  the  public 
treasury  for  the  purpose,  as  has  been  done  in  other  countries.  By  concerted 
action,  and  by  taking  advantage  of  its  gregarious  habits,  much  good  may 
be  accomplished  with  little  or  no  expenditure  of  money"  (p.  164).  Among 
the  "  Recommendations  for  Legislation  "  I  may  also  quote  the  following  : 
"(i)  The  immediate  repeal  of  all  existing  laws  which  afford  protection  to 
the  English  sparrow.  (2)  The  enactment  of  laws  legalizing  the  killing 
of  the  English  sparrow  at  all  seasons  of  the  year,  and  the  destruction  of  its 
nests,  eggs  and  young.  (3)  The  enactment  of  laws  making  it  -a  misde- 
meanor, punishable  by  fine  or  imprisonment,  or  both  —  (a)  to  intentionally 
give  food  or  shelter  to  the  English  sparrow,  except  with  a  view  to  its  ulti- 
mate destruction ;  (b)  to  introduce  or  aid  in  introducing  it  into  new  local- 
ities; (c)  to  interfere  with  persons,  means,  or  appliances  engaged  in,  or 
designed  for,  its  destruction  or  the  destruction  of  its  nests,  eggs  or  young  " 
(p.  150).  Methods  of  destroying  sparrows  .that  involve  suffering,  wound- 
ing, etc.,  should  be  avoided  so  far  as  possible.  The  same  is  true  of  methods 
which  advocate  destruction  of  "  nests,  eggs  or  young,"  which  I  regret  to 
find  are  favored  by  the  Department  of  Agriculture.  Among  the  many 
arguments  against  this  method  we  may  say  that  a  nest  is  a  sacred  thing, 
except  to  collectors,  and  the  deliberate  destruction  of  it  violates  our  finest 
sentiments  of  home  and  confidence.  I  have  known  people  to  advocate  the 
merciful  extermination  of  sparrows  out  of  nesting  time,  but  they  will  not 
allow  a  nest  to  be  disturbed  under  their  own  roof.  Recent  opposition  to 
attempts  to  rid  Boston  of  the  English  sparrow  by  destruction  of  "  eggs, 
nest  and  young "  is  history  in  point.  I  am  also  obliged,  on  biological 
grounds,  to  differ  from  the  Bulletin  on  the  point  of  protecting  carnivo- 
rous birds,  like  the  sparrow  hawk,  shrike,  and  screech  owl,  because,  since 
English  sparrows  are  so  shy  and  cunning,  these  birds  will  be  feeding  largely 
on  the  more  easily  caught  native  birds  which  we  wish  to  protect.  And, 
further,  if  they  did  kill  English  sparrows  in  great  numbers,  in  proportion 
as  these  become  scarce  they  would  take  more  and  more  of  our  valuable 
song  birds,  until  we  should  be  obliged  to  make  war  on  the  hawks  and 


OUR    COMMON    BIRDS  315 

the  problem  to  the  parents.  The  one  preliminary  to 
having  our  valuable  native  birds  numerous  in  our  cities 
and  towns,  and  in  many  parts  of  the  country  as  well,  is 
practical  extermination  of  the  English  sparrow.  If  at  the 
time  the  pest  was  imported  general  attention  had  been 
aroused  to  the  necessity  of  protecting  our  native  birds 

shrikes.  Directions  for  poisoning  sparrows,  given  on  page  174  of  the 
Bulletin,  are  evidently  not  derived  from  adequate  experimental  data. 
For  example,  arsenic  is  recommended.  I  have  given  this  a  thorough  trial 
during  three  winters,  and  while  a  few  may  be  killed  at  first,  their  numbers 
cannot  be  effectively  diminished  by  its  use.  Strychnine  sulphate  is,  according 
to  practical  experience,  the  poison  to  use ;  and  with  regard  to  its  preparation, 
the  Bulletin  is  singularly  inaccurate.  It  says :  "  Dissolve  two  grams  of 
strychnine  in  a  liter  of  hot  water."  This  is  not  possible,  since  this  amount 
of  the  pure  alkaloid  is  not  soluble  in  less  than  five  liters  of  boiling  water. 
The  directions  further  state  :  "  Soak  the  grain  in  the  poison  solution  at  least 
forty-eight  hours,"  but  they  nowhere  say  how  much  grain  to  take.  Strych- 
nine sulphate  is  evidently  meant,  and  two  grams  of  this  are  readily  soluble  in 
100  cubic  centimeters  of  water.  Lange  (Our  Native  Birds,  p.  76)  falls  into 
the  same  inaccuracy.  I  am  also  obliged,  on  experimental  grounds,  to  dis- 
sent from  the  directions  given  by  Lange,  viz.,  "  two  small  bottles  of  strych- 
nine "  to  "  nearly  if  not  quite  a  peck  of  wheat."  This  is  not  strong  enough, 
as  I  have  repeatedly  caught  sparrows  poisoned  by  grain  prepared  in  this  way, 
and  they  often  recovered  completely. 

My  own  formula  is  as  follows  :  Dissolve  one-eighth  of  an  ounce  of  pow- 
dered strychnine  sulphate  in  one-half  pint  of  boiling  water.  Pour  this,  while 
hot,  over  two  quarts  of  wheat  (or  cracked  corn),  stir  well,  and  continue  stir- 
ring from  time  to  time,  until  all  the  liquid  is  absorbed.  Dry  thoroughly, 
without  scorching,  and  put  away  in  some  safe  receptacle,  labeled 

POISONED  GRAIN.     STRYCHNINE. 

It  requires  but  one  kernel  to  kill  a  sparrow.  A  quart  of  wheat  contains 
about  23,000  kernels,  and  as  a  sparrow  seldom  takes  more  than  two  or  three, 
you  have  enough  to  rid  the  neighborhood  of  about  20,000  sparrows.  Expose 
the  grain  where  poultry  and  tame  pigeons  cannot  get  it,  and  by  operating 
only  during  the  winter  there  will  be  no  danger  of  poisoning  seed-eating  wild 
birds,  at  least  for  all  northern  towns  and  cities.  By  taking  advantage  of 


316  NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFF 

and  of  giving  them  a  chance  to  do  the  work  of  insect 
destruction  for  which  our  natural  conditions  had  developed 
them,  there  would  have  been  no  serious  insect  outbreaks, 
such  as  are  now  so  frequent.  It  is  coming  to  be  a  well- 
recognized  observation  that  insect  scourges  occur  where 
the  sparrows  are  most  numerous.  The  gypsy  moth  in 

the  sparrows'  gregarious  habits,  and  the  fact  that  they  drive  off  other  birds 
from  localities  where  they  are  numerous,  much  might  be  done  even  in  the 
South. 

Sparrows  are  such  suspicious  and  cunning  birds  that,  if  the  strychnized 
grain  be  exposed  at  first,  they  will  probably  roll  each  kernel  in  their  bills, 
taste  it,  reject  it,  and  possibly  refuse  to  touch  it  again  that  winter.  The 
best  way  is  to  select  a  safe  place,  where  the  wind  is  not  likely  to  scatter  it, 
a  walk,  driveway,  or  porch  roof  with  a  smooth  surface,  so  that  the  grain 
may  be  swept  up  after  each  trial.  Accustom  them  to  feeding  there  daily 
with  grain  exactly  like  that  which  is  medicated  (I  often  do  this  for  a  week 
or  even  a  month,  until  all  the  sparrows  in  the  neighborhood  are  wont  to 
come  regularly),  study  the  times  when  they  come  for  their  meals,  and  then 
on  a  cold,  dry  morning  after  a  heavy  snowstorm,  having  swept  up  all  the 
good  grain  the  night  before,  wait  until  they  have  gathered,  and  then  put 
down  enough  strychnized  grain  to  feed  the  entire  flock.  You  have  about 
ten  minutes  before  any  begin  to  drop,  and  those  that  have  not  partaken  of 
the  grain  by  this  time  will  probably  be  frightened  off ;  but,  by  timing  it  prop- 
erly, I  have  repeatedly  caught  every  sparrow  in  the  flock.  I  have  found 
morning  the  best  time,  as  they  all  come  then ;  and  it  is  essential  to  success 
to  select  a  dry  day,  since  in  wet  weather  they  taste  the  strychnine  too 
quickly;  I  have  seen  them  actually  throw  it  out  of  the  crop. 

With  this  simple  method  at  command,  by  concerted  action  a  few  friends 
of  our  native  birds  can  rid  any  northern  city  of  the  sparrow  pest  in  a  single 
winter.  This  is  no  more  than  parents  ought  to  be  willing  to  do,  if  not  for 
the  sake  of  the  native  birds,  at  least  to  clear  the  way  for  the  children  to  do 
effective  work  in  their  behalf.  And  if  any  continue  to  think  English  spar- 
rows worthy  of  protection,  despite  all  the  evidence  in  hand,  they  should 
protect  them  in  cages  on  their  own  premises,  and  be  placed  under  heavy 
bonds  never  to  let  them  out. 

It  is  not  intended  that  the  children  should  do  this  work,  but  the 
necessary  information  has  been  given  for  the  use  of  parents  or  teachers. 


OUR    COMMON    BIRDS  317 

Massachusetts  would  probably  never  have  come  to  our 
notice  had  it  not  found  free  course  in  localities  where 
the  sparrows  had  driven  off  the  native  birds.  The  same 
is  true  of  many  other  destructive  caterpillars  and  of  the 
elm  beetle.  Even  with  the  few  birds  that  we  now  have 
in  rural  districts,  these  pests  do  comparatively  little 
damage  and  never  become  so  numerous  as  in  the  cities 
that  are  swarming  with  sparrows.  The  sparrow  has  thus 
had  many  opportunities  to  distinguish  himself  and  has 
failed  in  every  case.  Besides  refusing  to  assist  materially 
in  the  extermination  of  insects,  the  sparrow  has  attacked 
the  gardens,  orchards,  vineyards,  and  grain  fields  in  a  most 
destructive  manner. 


FIG.  120.    IDEAL  MARTIN  HOUSE,  WORCESTER,  MASS. 


CHAPTER  XIX 

THE  BIRD  CENSUS  AND  FOOD  CHART 

SCARCELY  any  one  line  of  nature  study  possesses  so 
many  interesting  features  as  that  connected  with  keeping 
track  of  the  number  of  birds  in  a  neighborhood,  with  a 
view  to  increasing  the  more  desir- 
able species.  The  best  method 
of  making  a  bird  census  is  to 
count  the  nests  in  a  certain  dis- 
trict as  soon  as  the  leaves  fall 

FIG.  121.    CEDAR  BIRD  AND  NEST 

in    autumn.1      People    generally 

would  find  it  interesting  to  do  this  for  their  city  lots  or 
dooryards ;  and  if  they  would  send  the  results  from  year 
to  year  to  their  local  bird  club,  to  some  bird  magazine, 
or  to  the  writer,  valuable  data  might  be  gathered  as  to 
the  hoped-for  increase  of  our  native  birds  in  different 
parts  of  the  country.  It  is  helpful  for  schools,  besides 
being  good  geography  work,  to  make  a  chart  or  map  of 
the  district,  with  each  house,  tree,  hedge,  vine,  bush,  and 
thicket  in  its  proper  place.  The  separate  counting  of 
each  kind  of  tree  gives  the  children  a  good  reason  for 
learning  the  different  species,  and,  if  any  bird  shows 
preferences  for  particular  trees,  this  fact  will  be  brought 
out.  Essays  and  language  lessons  may  be  devoted  to 

1  I   take  pleasure  in  acknowledging  for  this   valuable   suggestion   my 
indebtedness  to  Frank  M.  Chapman. 

319 


320 


NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 


discussions  and  descriptions  as  to  the  kind  of  places  the 
different  birds  choose  to  nest  in.  Drawing  should  be 
combined  with  this,  and  each  schoolroom  might  contain, 


FIG.  122. 


Chart  and  census  of  a  city  block,  Worcester,  Mass.,  for  1898  and  igoi.  Stars  signify 
nests  in  1898,  viz.,  two  robins,  one  oriole,  one  chipping  sparrow,  and  one  downy  woodpecker. 
Initial  letters  stand  for  nests  in  1901.  Note  the  gain,  300  per  cent,  in  three  years.  Houses, 
trees,  and  shrubbery  are  appropriately  indicated;  r.,  robin;  o.,  oriole;  b.b.,  bluebird; 
TV. p.,  wood  pewee;  c.s.,  chipping  sparrow.  The  trees  are: 


Apple  ....  * 5 

Ash,  Mountain 2 

Dirch 13 

Cherry  —  (one  redstart,  1900)  .     ...  9 
Chestnut  —  one  woodpecker  (one  ori- 
ole, 1900) 29 

Elm 5 

Hawthorn  —  one  chipping  sparrow       .  i 

Hickory 4 


Maple  —  one  robin  (two  robins,  1900)  . 

Oak — (one  robin,  1900) 

Peach       

Pear  —  one  robin,  one  oriole  . 

Pine,  etc 

Plum 

Others       ...     

Total  number  of  trees 

Bignonia  vines  —  (three  chipping  spar- 
rows, 1900) 


either  in  a  case  or  hung  about  the  walls  and  windows, 
a  collection  of  a  few  deserted  nests.  These  the  pupils 
could  use  for  special  drawing  work  and  for  the  study  of 


THE    BIRD   CENSUS   AND    FOOD   CHART 


321 


form,  structure,  methods,  and  materials  used  by  the  birds 
in  building.  Knowledge  on  all  the  above  points  will 
find  application  in  a  succeeding  sec- 
tion, when  we  consider  methods  of 
attracting  the  birds  and  of  provid- 
ing for  their  needs.  Nothing  in  all 
ornithology  is  better  fitted  to  inspire 
in  a  child  the  love  of  bird  life  than 
the  study  of  their  wonderful  nests.  FIG.  123.  NEST  OF  BALTI- 
If  the  children  were  given  a  course 

in  such  study  during  February  or  March,  they  could  hardly 
be  induced  to  molest  a  bird's  nest  the  following  season. 

A  great  deal   of  information,  giving   at   a  -glance  the 
essence  of  years  of  study  and  hundreds  of  pages  of  bird 


FIG.  124.    BIRD  CENSUS  AS  KEPT  ON  BLACKBOARD,  UPSALA  STREET  SCHOOL, 

GRADE  VII 


322  NATURE    STUDY   AND    LIFE 

books,  has  been  collected  by  Miss  Ball  into  the  <ihart 
opposite.  We  can  see,  for  the  various  birds,  so  far  as 
is  known,  what  the  species  does  for  man  and  what,  in 
turn,  we  may  do  for  the  birds  by  way 
of  insuring  for  them  an  abundant  and 
inexpensive  supply  of  their  preferred 
foods.  Birds  have  been  persecuted  and 
slaughtered  for  generations  because 

FIG.  125.  VIREO  AND  NEST 

they  nave  been  compelled  to  levy  toll 
in  cultivated  fruits  for  their  invaluable  services.  I  say 
compelled,  because  we  have  hitherto  paid  no  attention  to 
the  natural  sources  of  food  supply  for  our  birds  and,  in 
clearing  the  land,  have  destroyed,  often  unnecessarily,  the 
native  trees  and  shrubs  upon  which  they  depended.  It 
is  now  well  known  that  birds  prefer  wild  to  cultivated 
fruit,  and  that  to  protect  our  fruit  the  most  effective  and 
humane  way  is  to  leave  or  plant  such  wild  or  valueless 
fruits  as  ripen  at  the  same  time.  In  coming  to  realize 
how  recklessly  the  country  has  been  stripped,  the  writer 
considers  it  bad  biology  even  to  put  scarecrows  in  the 
cherry  trees  to  frighten  the  The  Httie  bird  sits  at  MS  door  in  the  sun, 

birds    from    OUr   gardens    Until     Atilt  like  a  blossom  among  the  leaves, 

And  lets  his  illumined  being  o'errun 
We  have  planted  Wild  Cherries,     With  the  deluge  of  summer  it  receives  ; 

.  His  mate  feels  the  eggs  beneath  her  wings, 

mulberries,     and     JuneberriCS     And  the  heart  in  her  dumb  breast  nutters 


for  the  birds  to  feed  on.      We   He  s*nToS*e  wide  world,  and  she  to  her 
can  find  plenty  of  other  things   In  ^'^  of  Nature  which  song  is  the 
to  eat,  while  the  birds  cannot.        best?          LoWELL>  ^  Vision  of 
All  farms  and  many  gardens  sirLaun/ai,  P.  fc*. 

and  city  lots  have  room  for  some  tree  or  trees  which 
would  furnish  food  for  birds.  Our  city  streets,  school 
yards,  and  public  parks  might  be  planted  most  profitably 


fl 


It 


•tit 


324  NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 

with  some  regard  to  this  matter,  since,  besides  adding 
pleasing  variety,  it  would  tend  to  fill  the  towns  and  even 
cities  with  our  native  birds.  No  less  an  observer  than  John 
Burroughs  says  :  "  Indeed,  the  food  question  seems  to  be 
the  only  serious  one  with  the  birds.  Give  them  plenty  to 
eat  and  no  doubt  the  majority  of  them  would  face  our 
winters."  He  goes  on  to  describe  how  a  pair  of  bluebirds 
and  even  a  mocking  bird  were  induced,  by  the  shelter  of 
his  porch  and  the  fruit  of  a  hackberry  tree  that  stood 
close  by,  to  spend  the  winter  with  him  eighty  miles  north 
of  New  York.  With  available  room  properly  planted  we 
might  have  ten  wild  birds  to  one  that  we  have  now  in 
our  towns  and  many  of  our  cities  ;  and  those  who  favor 
the  English  sparrow,  because  he  is  the  "  only  bird  we 
have  in  winter,"  might  soon  be  consoled  for  his  absence. 

It  would  be  ideal  nature  study  if  all  the  children  in  our 
schools  would  learn  the  list  of  bird-food  trees  and  plants. 
By  learning  them  I  do  not  mean  being  able  to  say  over 
their  names  merely ;  but  they  should  be  able  to  recognize 
each  at  any  season  of  the  year ;  they  should  know  its 
possibilities  of  growth  for  purposes  of  decoration  and 
ornament ;  and,  most  of  all,  they  should  study  how  to  propa- 
gate each  species,  so  that  they  can  actually  plant  and  have 
a  tree  anywhere  they  wish. 

Glancing  down  the  first  column  of  the  chart,  we  see 
that  certain  birds  subsist  on.  animal  food,  insects,  worms, 
etc.  These  birds  are  the  house  wren  and  cuckoo ;  and, 
when  it  is  determined,  we  may  add  to  this  list  the  chicka- 
dee, vireos,  swallows,  swifts,  martins,  and  flycatchers.  We 
could  not  have  too  many  of  these  in  this  country.  Another 
larger  class  of  birds  takes  50  per  cent  or  over  of  animal 


THE    BIRD   CENSUS   AND   FOOD    CHART         325 

food  but,  even  with  the  others,  as  well  stated  by  Wood 
(Theodore  Wood,  Our  Bird  Allies,  p.  7),  birds  that  take 
but  a  small  per  cent  of  insect  food  may  still  destroy 
insects  which  would  have  damaged  fruits  and  crops  much 
more  than  the  birds  themselves.  Birds  that  come  early, 
like  the  bluebird,  robin,  redwing,  and  grackle,  may  be  of 
especial  service  by  destroying  insects  before  they  have 
laid  their  eggs  for  the  season. 

For  four  years  now  the  food  chart  has  occupied  a  place 
on  the  wall  of  my  study.  I  have  had  occasion  to  refer  to 
it  many  hundred  times,  and  never  without  learning  some- 
thing that  I  was  glad  to  know.  Still  its  best  service, 
after  all,  lies  in  showing  us  how  little  we  know  about  the 
foods  of  our  birds.  Each  blank  square  is  really  a  ques- 
tion, a  suggestion  to  try  this  or  that,  and  an  infinite 
number  of  other  things  not  mentioned  in  the  chart,  to 
see  whether  any  particular  bird  will  eat  it.  And  when  a 
child  finds  that  any  bird  will  eat  something  which  it  is 
not  shown  to  eat  in  the  chart,  he  may  have  discovered 
a  fact  which  no  one  else  in_  the  world  knows.  If  it  be 
some  destructive  insect,  his  observation  may  be  very 
valuable,  and  if  he  tells  everybody  about  it,  he  may  lead 
people  to  protect  the  bird  more  carefully  and  so  help  to 
make  the  world  better. 

As  years  go  by  and  great  numbers  of  our  birds  become 
so  tame  that  they  will  come  to  us  and  eat  from  our  hands 
and  allow  us  to  observe  them  as  they  hunt  their  natural 
foods  and  feed  their  young,  we  may  be  able  to  discover 
more  in  this  important  field,  in  possibly  the  next  ten  years, 
than  man  has  learned  in  as  many  centuries.  Methods 
suggested  for  taming  birds  may  assist  in  this  work. 


FIG.  126.    SHELLEY'S  PROPHECY  FULFILLED 


326 


CHAPTER  XX 

PRACTICAL   DOMESTICATION   OF  OUR   WILD   BIRDS 

No  longer  now  the  wing'd  habitants, 
That  in  the  woods  their  sweet  lives  sing  away, 
Flee  from  the  form  of  man  ;  but  gather  round, 
And  prune  their  sunny  feathers  on  the  hands 
Which  little  children  stretch  in  friendly  sport 
Towards  these  dreadless  partners  of  their  play. 

happiness 
And  science  dawn  though  late  upon  the  earth. 

SHELLEY,  Damon  of  the  World. 

THE  process  of  domestication  consists  in  three  things  : 
first,  in  development  of  intelligence  sufficient  to  discern 
between  friends  and  foes  ;  second,  in  development  of  a 
sympathetic  appreciation  of  the  animal's  physical  needs 
sufficient  to  enable  it  to  live  with  man  in  mutually  helpful 
relations  ;  and  third,  in  so  universalizing  these  attainments 
and  relations  that  all  may  work  in  unison,  to  the  end  that 
what  one  builds  up  others  will  not  tear  down.  The  evi- 
dence is  already  obtained  to  prove  the  value  of  a  number 
of  the  common  species.  On  the  aesthetic  side  alone  the 
sentiment  is  growing  rapidly  that  our  birds  are  worth 
their  board  and  lodging,  which  they  pay  for  many  times 
over  with  their  beauty  and  their  song.  In  addition  to 
this,  recent  discoveries  as  to  their  work  in  insect  destruc- 
tion should  win  for  them  an  assured  place  in  nature-study 
courses  ;  and,  it  would  seem,  that  in  no  other  way  could 


328 


NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 


we  bring  about  that  universal  regard  for  bird  life  that  the 
country  needs. 

Before  giving  them  any  of  these  data  below,  ask  the  pupils,  as  a 
part  of  a  writing  lesson,  to  make  a  list  of  the  birds  they  like  best, 
stating  after  each  how  much  they  would  be  willing  to  give  to  have  a 
pair  nest  by  their  home. 

People  buy  birds  and  go  to  the  expense  and  care  of  keeping  them 
in  cages.  How  much  more  is  it  worth  to  have  a  pair  of  free  birds 
come  and  nest  by  your  window,  to  have  them  sing  to  you  the  season 
through  and  show  you  the  secrets  of  their  wonderful  housekeeping ! 
Four  of  my  friends  have  kindly  given  me  estimates  as  to  how  much 
they  would  be  willing  to  give  thus  to  have  a  pair  of  the  following 
birds.  (We  may  compare  the  figures  with  Holden's  prices  for  choice 
songsters  of  the  same  species.1) 


ESTIMATED  VALUE 

HOLIM'N'S    I'Klfl- 

FOR   A    PAIR  OF 

1ST 

2D 

3D 

4TH 

FOR   A    MALK    KIK1) 

Brown  Thrashers  . 

*5 

#3 

*3 

£8 

$5        to  $  8 

Catbirds    .... 

i 

i 

•75 

I 

5         "      10 

Tanagers  .... 

i 

10 

3 

4 

3         "       5 

Grosbeaks     .     .     . 

i 

8 

7 

8 

5         «       8 

Robins      .... 

5 

5 

i 

i 

3         "       5 

Bobolinks      .     .     . 

2 

10 

6 

8 

2         «       3 

Orioles      .... 

6 

4 

3-50 

3 

5 

Chickadees    .     .     . 

2 

i 

2 

2 

— 

Bluebirds  .... 

I 

5 

4 

3 

— 

Mocking  birds  (not  thought  of  as  a  possibility) 

3-50    "     50 

Anything  that  a  man  can  avoid  doing  under  the  notion  that  it  is 
bad,  he  may  also  avoid  under  the  notion  that  something  else  is  good. 

1  I  had  hoped  to  place  alongside  of  the  aesthetic  value  the  economic  value  of  the  different 
birds ;  but  our  highest  authorities  in  ornithology  tell  us  that  this  is  not  known  for  a  single 
bird.  If  a  toad  may  be  worth  #19.88  each  season  for  cutworms  alone  which  it  destroys 
(Kirkland's  estimate,  "The  Common  Toad,"  Bulletin  No.  46,  Hatch  Experiment  Station, 
Amherst,  Mass.),  many  of  our  birds,  like  the  chickadee,  swallow,  wren,  robin,  and  others, 
must  be  worth  much  more. 


DOMESTICATION    OF    OUR   WILD    BIRDS        329 

.  .  .  Wean  them  [school  children]  from  their  native  cruelty  by 
imparting  to  them  some  of  your  own  positive  sympathy  with  an 
animal's  inner  springs  of  joy.  JAMES>  Talks  fo  Teachfrs^  p.  ,95. 

What  positive  work  can  the  children  do  for  birds  that 
will  tend  to  their  increase  and  draw  them  closer  and 
closer  about  our  homes  year  by  year?  Let  us  apply 
ourselves  thoughtfully  to  this  question ;  for  I  am  sure 
we  shall  find  increasing  pleasure  in  following  its  varied 
suggestions  as  long  as  we  live.  We  have  been  chasing 
the  birds  farther  and  farther  back  into  the  woods  long 
enough.  Let  us  reverse  all  this  and  induce  them  to 
come  to  us. 

Food,  Water,  and  Home,  Essentials  of  Bird  Life. —  Since  their 
homes  are  such  frail  affairs,  we  should  expect  birds  to 
build  where  food  and  water  are  abundant.  Still  we  should 
remember  that  the  idea  of  home,  with  birds  as  with  men,  is 
intimately  associated  with  a  sense  of  security,  and  that  the 
predominant  characteristics  of  birds  are  wings,  timidity, 
ability  to  flee.  The  sight  of  a  cat,  the  careless  throwing 
of  a  stone,  when  a  pair  are  seeking  a  nesting  place,  may 
often  influence  them  to  go  elsewhere.  On  the  other 
hand,  no  animals  have  eyes  so  quick  to  discern  acts  of 
friendliness,  and,  if  all  appearance  of  hostility  is  avoided, 
I  doubt  if  we  need  to  modify  the  daily  course  of  our  lives 
essentially  to  have  the  birds  come  to  us.  Their  nests 
often  stand  close  to  railroads  and  overhang  busy  streets, 
and  if  not  directly  molested,  many  of  our  most  valuable 
species  seem  quite  content  to  take  the  world  as  they  find 
it.  This  is  the  result  of  my  observations  and  experience 
for  the  past  ten  years. 


330 


NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 


I 


Few  people  realize  the  importance  of  water  to  bird 
life.  How  many  times  a  day  a  bird  drinks  I  have  never 
, ,  seen  stated  or  even 

W  mentioned  in  any  of 

am  the  books.1  But  we 
1  Water  may  be  pro- 
vided by  placing  a  shallow 
dish  on  a  short  post,  high 
enough  to  be  out  of  the 
reach  of  cats.  The  water 
should  be  from  one-half 
inch  deep  on  the  shallow 
side  to  two  or  three  inches 
in  the  deepest  part,  which 
may  be  accomplished  by 
either  tilting  the  dish  or 
by  partially  filling  it  with 
washed  sand  or  fine  gravel. 
A  large  flowerpot  saucer 
makes  a  good  dish,  as  it 
is  a  little  rough,  and  it  is 
said  that  birds  do  not  like 
a  slippery  floor  to  stand 
on  when  they  bathe.  Few 
people  who  have  not  tried 
it  can  have  any  idea  of  the 
satisfaction  there  is  in  see- 
ing the  thirsty  birds  come 
down  to  bathe  and  drink. 
For  five  years  past  I 
have  had  one  by  my  study 
window,  and  at  the  pres- 
ent moment  a  robin  is 
making  the  water  fly  in 
every  direction.  The  next  comer  is  an  English  sparrow,  and  the  next 
and  the  next  and  the  next  two,  English  sparrows,  —  while  they  are  with 
us  we  should  not  wish  them  to  be  thirsty,  —  and  the  next  is  a  female 
robin,  the  next  a  red-eyed  vireo,  the  next  an  English  sparrow,  all  within 


FIG.  127.     A  BIRD  BATH 
(Photograph  by  Timothy  F.  Myers) 


DOMESTICATION    OF    OUR    WILD    BIRDS        331 

know  they  drink  often,  and  they  must  have  their  baths 
once  a  day  and  probably  twice  in  hot  weather. 

Another  kind  of  bath  the  birds  know  how  to  take,  and 
people  should  indulge  in  more,  is  the  sun  bath.  The 
bird  leans  over,  broadside  to  the  sun,  the  wings  fall,  the 
bill  opens,  and  every  feather  is  raised  to  let  the  light  strike 
the  skin.  When  we  see  it  for  the  first  time,  we  think  the 
bird  is  dying  ;  but  as  the  solid  comfort  of  it  is  appreciated, 


FIG.  128.     MOCKING  B.IRD  TAKING  A  SUN  BATH 

we  can  hardly  resist  the  temptation  to  go  and  do  like- 
wise,—  bask  in  the  sun. 

The  lack  of  pure  water  and  suitable  places  to  bathe 
may  go  farther  than  anything  else  toward  explaining  the 
disappearance  of  birds  from  our  cities  during  the  hot,  dry 
summer  months.  We  see  them  drinking  and  bathing  in  the 
gutters  and  mud  puddles,  and  is  it  not  natural  that  they  take 
their  nestlings  to  the  country  as  soon  as  they  can  fly  ? 

fifteen  minutes,  and  so  it  goes  in  the  noon  hour  whenever  I  have  time 
to  watch.     Nothing  adds  more  to  the  comfort  of  birds  in  hot  weather. 


332 


NATURE    STUDY   AND    LIFE 


As  an  outdoor  lesson  ask  the  class  to  hunt  the  district 
over  thoroughly  and  report  on  the  number  of  suitable 
places  for  birds  to  drink  and  bathe.  Previously  discuss 
with  them  what  constitutes  a  suitable  place.  Our  park 
waters  are  commonly  too  deep  and,  with  their  rock-bound 
borders,  seldom  afford  a  bathing  place.  Birds  recognize 
their  helplessness  when  their  feathers  are  wet,  so  that 

streams  or  pools  whose 
banks  afford  hiding 
places  for  cats  will  be 
avoided.  Then  the 
water  must  be  whole- 
some, clean,  and  con- 
stant, not  likely  to  fail 
on  hot  days.  If  there 
is  a  lack  of  proper  bird 
fountains,  call  for  vol- 
unteers among  the 
children  who  will  see 
to  it  that  the  birds  of 
the  district  are  well 
provided  for. 

Leaving  the  matter  of  food,  as  most  important,  to  the 
last  we  may  next  inquire  what  the  children  can  do  to 
supply  bird  homes.  The  idea  of  building  a  bird  house 
and  of  having  birds  live  in  it  has  a  great  fascination  for 
children.  The  bare  suggestion  is  sufficient,  and  off  they 
go,  perhaps  carrying  the  house  and  running  after  every 
bird  they  see,  calling  "  Come,  birdie,"  and  great  will  be 
the  disappointment  at  first  that  every  imaginable  bird 
does  not  come  forthwith  and  take  up  its  abode. 


FIG.  129.    BIRD  HOUSES 

Designed  and  made,  at  suggestion  of  Principal 
J.  Chauncey  Lyford,  by  ninth  grade  manual 
training  pupils,  Winslow  Street  School, 
Worcester,  Mass.  The  bird  house  is  now 
adopted  as  one  of  the  regular  models  in  the 
ninth  grade  manual  training  course  through- 
out the  city 


DOMESTICATION    OF    OUR    WILD    BIRDS        333 


We  should  guard  against  such  disappointments  in  con- 
nection with  the  autumn  bird  census  and  during  the 
study  of  nests  and  nesting 
materials.  For  each  bird 
included  in  their  grade  plan 
they  should  have  clear  ideas 
as  to  its  preferences  and  be 
led  to  accommodate  them- 
selves to  the  bird's  life, 
rather  than  expect  the  bird 
to  do  impossible  things. 

To  supply  homes,  nest- 
ing places,  and  materials 
for  nests  is  a  fascinating 
study.  Trees  may  be 
pruned  to  make  inviting 
crotches,  and  a  dark  tangle 
of  bushes  overgrown  with 
vines  and  sunflowers,  dense 
lilac  bushes,  or  a  "  syringa 
thicket"  will  be  sure  to 
attract  catbirds,  brown 
thrashers,  and  some  others. 
Bird  houses  furnish  homes 
for  wrens,  bluebirds,  chick- 
adees, nuthatches,  tree 
swallows,  and  purple  mar- 
tins, but  here,  again,  Eng- 
lish sparrows  are  the  omnipresent  nuisance  and  must  be 
served  frequent  notice  to  quit  the  premises.  The  proper 
size  for  a  bird  house  is  six  inches  square  floor  space  and 


FIG.  130.     BLUEBIRD 

One  of  the  author's  tenement  houses. 
There  are  five  young  ones  inside,  and 
the  pair  reared  three  broods  in  1901 


334 


NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 


Alas,  dear  friend,  that,  all  my  days, 
Hast  poured  from  that  syringa  thicket 

The  quaintly  discontinuous  lays 
To  which  I  hold  a  season-ticket, 

A  season-ticket  cheaply  bought 
With  a  dessert  of  pilfered  berries, 

And  who  so  oft  my  soul  hast  caught 
With  morn  and  evening  voluntaries. 

LOWELL,  Nightingale  in  the  Study, 


eight  inches  high,  and  houses  of  more  than  one  compart- 
ment may  be  made  by  cutting  the  boards  in  multiples  of 
these  numbers.  Old  weathered  boards  should  be  used, 
or,  if  painted,  they  should 
be  made  the  color  of  an  old 
tree  trunk.  A  single  open- 
ing near  the  top  should  be 
made,  two  inches  in  diameter 
for  most  birds  ;  although,  for 
wrens  and  chickadees,  one 
inch  is  sufficient  and  will  serve  to  keep  out  PInglish  sparrows, 
and  for  wrens  the  house  should  be  set  in  a  shady  place. 

Besides  being  a  cheery  songster  and  a  most  sprightly 
and  fascinating  fellow,  the  wren  depends  for  practically 
his  whole  food  supply  upon  the  insects  of  our  grounds 
and  gardens.  While  wrens  have  become  scarce  of  late 
years  about  our  towns  and  cities,  driven 
out  probably  by  English  sparrows,  a  few 
of  the  children  in  Worcester  have  reported 
them  as  occupying  their  bird  houses.  No 
doubt,  we  may  soon  have  them  common 
again  if  we  supply  sparrow-proof  homes 
and  get  rid  of  the  English  sparrows. 

Probably  no  bird  possesses  a  higher 
economic  value  than  the  chickadee.  All 
summer  he  feeds  on  insects  and  all  winter 
on  the  eggs  which  they  lay  on  the  twigs 
and  bark  and  around  the  buds  of  trees.  Professor  Forbush 
reports  finding  5500  eggs  of  plant  lice  in  the  crop  of  a 
chickadee,  this  number  representing  what  the  bird  had 
gathered  for  a  single  breakfast.  When  heavy  snow  and 


FIG.  131. 
CHICKADEE 


DOMESTICATION    OF    OUR    WILD    BIRDS        335 


Among  the  dwellings  framed  by  birds 
In  field  or  forest  with  nice  care, 

Is  none  that  with  the  little  Wren's 
In  snugness  may  compare. 


especially  sleet  covers  the  trees,  be  sure  to  see  that  your 
chickadees  are  provided  with  food.  A  fresh  bone  with 
marrow  and  meat  on  it  or 
a  piece  of  suet  fastened  to 
the  limb  of  a  tree  and  kept 
free  from  ice  -from  time  to 
time  may  save  dozens  of 
these  precious  little  lives 
during  a  winter.  Chicka- 
dees are  also  among  our 
cheeriest  and  tamest  birds, 
and  we  could  not  have  too 
many  of  them  about  our 
homes. 

For  swallows  every  barn, 
and  I  am  tempted  to  say 
house  attic  as  well,  should 
be  provided  with  a  hole  high 
up  in  the  gables,  which  can 
be  left  open  the  whole  year, 
or  at  least  all  the  time  the 
swallows  are  with  us.  This 
is  a  custom  of  our  fathers 
which  should  not  be  per- 
mitted to  lapse.  It  is  some- 
times objected  that  the  birds 
bring  undesirable  insects 
into  the  house.  The  idea 
is  probably  based  on  faulty 
observations,  but,  in  any  case,  the  parasites  may  be  easily 
destroyed,  and  we  should  do  this  rather  than  not  have  the 


And  when  for  their  abodes  they  seek 

An  opportune  recess, 
The  hermit  has  no  finer  eye 

For  shadowy  quietness. 

WORDSWORTH,  The  Wren's  Nest. 

This  poet,  though  he  live  apart, 
Moved  by  his  hospitable  heart, 
Sped,  when  I  passed  his  sylvan  fort, 
To  do  the  honors  of  his  court, 
As  fits  a  feathered  lord  of  land, 
Flew  near,  with  soft  wing  grazed  my  hand. 
EMERSON,  The  Titmouse. 

Further  on  we  found  what  we  were  chiefly 
looking  for  —  a  flock  of  lively  little  chicka- 
dees. .  .  .  They  would  light  on  our  hands, 
inspect  the  pieces  of  crushed  nut  there,  knock 
off  the  ones  that  did  not  suit  them,  and 
finally  fly  off  with  one  —  usually  the  largest. 

FLOYD  C.  NOBLE,  aged  14,  Bird-Lore, 
Vol.  I,  p.  58. 

On  two  occasions,  Chickadees  have  flown 
down  and  perched  upon  my  hand.  Dur- 
ing the  few  seconds  they  remained  there  I 
became  rigid  with  the  emotion  of  this  novel 
experience.  It  was  a  mark  of  confidence 
which  seemed  to  initiate  me  into  the  ranks 
of  woodland  dwellers. 

CHAPMAN,  Handbook,  p.  390. 

Note  also  Chapman's  "The  Legend  of 
the  Salt,"  Bird-Lore,  Vol.  I,  p.  55. 

Gentle  swallow,  thou  we  know 

Every  year  dost  come  and  go  ; 

In  the  spring  thy  nest  thou  mak'st ; 

In  the  winter  it  forsak'st, 

And  divert'st  thyself  awhile 

Near  the  Memphian  towers,  or  Nile. 

Anacreon,  XXXV,  p.  89,  Stanley's 
Translation  (562  B.C.). 


336 


NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 


swallows.  Old  barns  are  sometimes  seen  with  this  wise 
provision,  but  it  is  seldom,  if  ever,  found  in  the  new  ones 
that  are  fast  taking  their  places.1 


As  the  old  barns  fell  to  ruin, 

New  ones,  raised  to  take  their  places, 

Lacked  the  broad  and  generous  shelter 

Which  the  eaves  had  once  afforded 

To  the  owners  of  the  mud  huts, 

To  the  swallows  of  the  Saco. 

Weary-winged,  from  distant  Southlands, 
In  the  spring  have  come  the  swallows, 
Seeking  hopefully  their  nestings, 
Seeking  eaves  and  sun-warmed  barn  sides  ; 
Come  and  found  the  crackless  clapboards, 
Come  and  found  ill-odored  pigments, 
Come  and  found  new  barns  for  old  ones, 
Come  and  found  no  eaves  for  shelter, 
Come  with  joy  and  met  with  sorrow, 
Seeking  vainly  for  old  barn  sides 
Changeless  as  the  cliffs  of  Paugus. 

Weary-winged,  the  homeless  swallows 
Flutter  on  into  the  darkness  — 
Whither  going?    That  they  know  not. 
But  't  is  certain  that  the  Saco, 
That  the  lonely  cliffs  of  Paugus, 
That  the  steeps  below  Chocorua, 
Do  not  bear  their  cosy  dwellings. 
Years  ago,  on  man  depending, 
Mother  swallows  taught  their  nestlings 
Barns  alone  were  made  to  build  on  — 
Barns  have  failed  them,  man  betrayed  them. 
BOLLES,  Chocorua, ' J  Tenants. 

As  well  suppose  the  trees  without  leaves 
as  the  summer  air  without  swallows.     Ever 


since  of  old  time  the  Greeks  went  round 
from  house  to  house  in  spring  singing  the 
swallow  song,  these  birds  have  been  looked 
upon  as  the  friends  of  man,  and  almost  as 
the  very  givers  of  the  sunshine.  .  .  .  The 
beautiful  swallows,  be  tender  with  them, 
for  they  symbol  all  that  is  best  in  nature  and 
all  that  is  best  in  our  hearts. 

JEFFRIES,  Field  and  Hedgerow,  p.  100. 

Then  out  of  the  high  heaven  above,  at 
once  one  hears  the  happy  chorus  of  the  barn 
swallows ;  they  come  rejoicing,  their  swift 
wings  cleave  the  blue,  they  fill  the  air  with 
woven  melody  of  grace  and  music.  Till 
late  August  they  remain.  Like  the  martins', 
their  note  is  pure  joy ;  there  is  no  coloring  of 
sadness  in  any  sound  they  make.  The  sand- 
piper's note  is  pensive  with  all  its  sweet- 
ness ;  there  is  a  quality  of  thoughtfulness, 
as  it  were,  in  the  voice  of  the  song  sparrow  ; 
the  robin  has  many  sad  cadences  ;  in  the  fairy 
bugling  of  the  oriole  there  is  a  triumphant 
richness,  but  not  such  pure  delight;  the 
blackbird's  call  is  keen  and  sweet,  but  not 
so  glad  ;  and  the  bobolink,  when  he  shakes 
those  brilliant  jewels  of  sound  from  his 
bright  throat,  is  always  the  prince  of  jokers, 
full  of  fun,  but  not  so  happy  as  comical. 
The  swallow's  twittering  seems  an  expres- 
sion of  unalloyed  rapture,  —  I  should  select 
it  from  the  songs  of  all  the  birds  I  know  as 
the  voice  of  unshadowed  gladness. 
CELIA  THAXTER,  An  Island  Garden,  p.  22. 


PIG.  132.   BARN 

SWALLOW'S 

NEST 


1  The  nest  in  the  margin  was  taken  from  such  an  old 
barn,  with  swallow  holes  in  the  peak,  belonging  to  Elliott 
Moore  of  Worcester,  and  the  swallows  have  nested  in  it 
regularly  for  many  years.  Paint  and  planed  lumber  are 
fast  making  our  buildings  impossible  for  swallows.  A 
case  has  recently  come  to  my  knowledge,  and  they  are 
doubtless  numerous,  where  the  nests  of  a  large  colony  of 
eave  swallows  were  scraped  down  in  order  to  paint  a  barn. 
They  deserted  the  place  and  have  never  returned.  It  would 
certainly  pay  to  tack  a  rough  board  along  under  the  eaves 
of  barns,  to  attract  colonies  of  this  most  valuable  bird. 


DOMESTICATION    OF    OUR    WILD    BIRDS        337 


Even  the  Indians  used  to  hang  gourds  to  their  wig- 
wam poles  for  the  martins.  The  Greeks  celebrated  the 
swallows  in  poetry  and  song  as  early 
as  the  dawn  of  authentic  history.  We 
cannot  afford  to  let  these  deep  lines  of 
sentiment  and  human  good  fail  from 
our  lives.  I  have  heard  complaints 
that  our  barn  swallows  are  becoming 
scarce,  as  though  it  were  due  to  some 
inevitable  change  in  natural  condi- 
tions. Look  at  our  barns,  and  the 
whole  matter  is  explained.  Provide 
homes,  wherever  this  has  been 
neglected,  and  swallows  will  soon  be 
numerous  again.  It  was  indeed  a 
pathetic  thing  to  see,  as  I  did 
recently,  a  fine  colony  of  barn  swal- 
lows flying  round  and  round  a  large 
barn,  examining  every  knot,  clinging 
about  the  too  well  glazed  windows, 
unable  to  find  an  entrance.  Farmers 
should  realize  the  hot  days  of  suffer- 
ing and  annoyance  from  flies,  gnats, 
and  mosquitoes  which  a  beautiful  col- 
ony of  swallows  would  save. 

The  purple  martin  has  been  prac- 
tically driven  from  our  towns  and 
cities  by  the  English  sparrows.  It 
should  be  considered  no  mean  public 
service  to  keep  a  suitable  house 
clear  of  sparrows  for  these  beautiful 


BIRD  HOUSE 


FIG.  133. 

Erected  in  the  school  yard 
(Upsala  Street).  It  was 
taken  by  a  pair  of  tree 
swallows  before  it  had 
been  up  an  hour 


333 


NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 


This  guest  of  Summer, 
The  temple-haunting  martlet,  does  approve, 
By  his  lov'd  masonry,  that  heaven's  breath 
Smells  wooingly  here.  .  .  . 
Where  they  most  breed  and  haunt,  I  have 

observ'd, 
The  air  is  delicate. 

SHAKESPEARE,  Macbeth. 

All  the  summer  long  the  swallow  is  a 
most  instructive  pattern  of  unwearied  indus- 
try and  affection.  .  .  .  The  swallow  is  a 
delicate  songster. 

GILBERT  WHITE,  Selborne,  1767, 
Vol.  II,  p.  5. 


birds.1      The   bird   house   for   purple    martins   should  be 
placed  on  a  pole  some  distance  from  trees  and  buildings, 

and  the  openings  may  be 
three  inches  in  diameter. 

The  little  chimney  swift 
and  the  night  hawk  are 
birds  of  wonderful  power 
and  usefulness  in  sweeping 
the  air  clear  of  insect  pests. 
Both  have  applied  for  homes 
in  our  cities  and  should  be 
most  carefully  protected.  The  night  hawks  nest  on  the 
flat  roofs  of  buildings,  and  the  swifts  in  unused  chimneys. 

The  swifts  nest  in  colonies 
in  the  same  chimneys  and 
are  often  killed  in  great 

i  -i  r*  .1 

numbers     by     firCS    that     are 

built  during  cold  weather  in 
early  summer.  Great  care 
should  be  exercised  to  avoid 
this  whenever  possible. 

To  one  awakened  at  morn- 
ing and  cheered  at  evening 


If  every  bird  has  his  vocation,  as  a  poetical 
French  writer  suggests,  that  of  the  American 
robin  must  be  to  inspire  cheerfulness  and 
contentment  in  men.  His  joyous  "Cheer 
up  !  Cheer  up  !  Cheery  !  Be  cheery  !  Be 
cheery  !  "  poured  out  in  the  early  morning 
from  the  top  branch  of  the  highest  tree  in 
the  neighborhood,  is  one  of  the  most  stimu- 
lating sounds  of  spring. 

Besides  admonishing  others  to  cheerful- 
ness, the  robin  sets  the  example.  Not  only 
is  his  cheering  voice  the  first  in  the  morning 
and  the  last  at  night,  —  of  the  day  birds,  — 
but  no  rain  is  wet  enough  to  dampen  his 
spirits. 

OLIVE  THORNE  MILDER,  In 
Nesting  Time,  p.  2. 


1  It  is  often  stated  that  purple  martins  are  becoming  rare,  English  spar- 
rows being  generally  given  as  the  cause.  This  is  probably  true  in  the  main, 
since  the  sparrows  nest  before  the  martins  come  north,  and  especially 
because  the  sparrow  nuisance  has  discouraged  people  from  providing 
martin  houses.  That  the  lack  of  suitable  houses  for  martins  may  be  at  the 
bottom  of  the  difficulty  is  indicated  by  the  fact  that  a  martin  house,  erected 
in  Worcester,  May  i,  became  within  three  weeks  the  home  of  nine  pairs 
of  these  "  rare "  birds.  Within  limits  of  food  supply,  we  can  doubtless 
have  as  many  purple  martins  as  we  furnish  with  sparrow-free  houses. 


DOMESTICATION    OF    OUR    WILD    BIRDS        339 

by  their  songs  through  years  of  childhood,  robins  are 
necessaries  of  life.  No  summer  is  complete  without  a 
pair  of  these  rollicking  birds  nesting  about  the  house. 


FIG.  134.   ROBIN'S  NEST  IN  THE  CHERRY  TREE 
(Photograph  by  the  author,  1901) 

But  how  to  induce  a  pair  of  wild  robins  to  do  this  is  a 
problem  fascinating  but  as  yet  almost  wholly  unsolved. 

In  very  dry  weather,  or  where  mud  is  not  easily 
obtained,  it  is  a  good  plan  to  keep  a  pan  of  mud  on  the 
post  with  the  birds'  watering  dish.  Mrs.  Treat  has 


340 


NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 


FIG.  135.     BLUEBIRD 


described  how  robins  take  mud  for  their  nests  from  her 
flowerpots,  and  Olive  Thorne  Miller  relates  that  a  female 
robin  has  been  known  to  dip  herself  in  water,  fly  directly 

into  the  dust  of  the  street, 
and  then  pick  off  the  mud 
from  her  feet  and  feathers. 
When  it  comes  to  this,  we 
may  be  sure  that  a  little  help 
will  be  appreciated.  Several 
children  in  the  Worcester 
Ten  to  One  Clubs  have  put 
out  pans  of  mud  and  have 
been  greatly  delighted  in  a 
number  of  cases  by  seeing 
robins  come  and  carry  the  mud  away.  But  I  hope  the 
one  who  first  discovers  how  to  make  a  nook  so  inviting 
that  a  pair  of  robins  cannot  resist  the  temptation  to  build 
their  nest  in  it  will  tell 
me,  and  every  one  else,  all 
about  it. 

It  is  almost  as  hard  to  do 
without  bluebirds,  orioles, 
and  vireos,  and  a  host  of 
others,  and  if  plenty  of  nest- 
ing material  be  provided  at 
the  proper  time,  it  is  per- 
haps easier  to  attract  orioles 
and  vireos  than  any  others. 
They  can  build  in  almost  any  tree  and  find  food  in  every 
garden  and  orchard.  Hence  abundance  of  nesting  mate- 
rial, linen  and  cotton  thread  and  strings,  store  twine,  yarn, 


A  rout  of  evanescence 

With  a  revolving  wheel ; 
A  resonance  of  emerald, 

A  rush  of  cochineal ; 
And  every  blossom  on  the  bush 

Adjusts  her  tumbled  head,  — 
The  mail  from  Tunis,  probably, 

An  easy  morning's  ride. 
EMILY  DICKINSON,  Second  Series,  p.  130. 

A  flash  of  harmless  lightning, 

A  mist  of  rainbow  dyes, 
The  burnished  sunbeams  brightening, 

From  flower  to  flower  he  flies  ; 
While  wakes  the  nodding  blossom, 

But  just  too  late  to  see 
What  lip  hath  touched  her  bosom 

And  drained  her  nectary. 

JOHN  B.  TABB,  p.  59. 


DOMESTICATION    OF    OUR    WILD    BIRDS        341 


or  tow,  may  decide  a  pair  to  build  on  the  spot.  A  little 
hair  for  a  chipping  sparrow  is  another  thing  not  to  be 
forgotten,  and  plenty  of  honeysuckles  and  other  nectar- 
bearing  flowers  will  be  sure  to  attract  humming  birds. 


FIG.  136.    HUMMING  BIRD'S  NEST  ON  AN  APPLE  LIMB 
(About  natural  size) 

Whatever  we  do  to  attract  a  pair  of  birds  to  nest  on 
the  premises  must  be  done,  of  course,  at  the  proper  time, 
and  to  this  end  we  should  know  when  each  species  begins 
to  nest,  and  our  preparations  should  be  made  a  week  or 


342 


NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 

LIFE   CHART   OF   OUR   COMMON 


Arrive 

Depart 

Number 
of 
Broods 

Begins 
to  nest 

Incu- 
bation 

Days 

Bluebird 

A  few  resident,  March 

Nov. 

2-3 

May,  early 

12 

Robin 
Wood  Thrush 

A  few  resident,March 
May 

Oct.,  Nov. 
Oct. 

2-3 

2-? 

May 
May,  late 

12 
12 

Brown  Thrasher 

April,  late 

Oct.,  late 

i  or  2 

May,  early 

Catbird 

April,  late 

Oct.,  late 

2-? 

May,  early 

House  Wren 

April,  late 

Oct.,  mid. 

3 

May,  early 

Chickadee 

Resident 

2 

May,  early 

Vireos 

May 

Oct.,  late 

I 

May,  early 

Cedar  Bird 

Resident 

I 

June-Oct. 

C  Barn 
Swallows  \   Eave 
(   Tree 

April,  mid. 
April 
April 

Sept.,  mid. 
Oct. 

2 

Purple  Martin 

April 

Sept.,  mid. 

Tanager 

May 

Oct.,  early 

I 

May,  late 

Grosbeak 

May,  early 

Oct.,  early 

I 

Orioles 

May  i 

Sept.  i 

(  May,  mid. 
|  Wore.,  1899 

14 

Bobolink 

May 

Oct.,  early 

1 

June  i 

Kingbird 

April,  late 

Sept.,  early 

I    (2?) 

May,  early 

12-13 

Phoebe 

March,  mid. 

Oct.,  last 

2 

May,  early 

12 

Cuckoo 

May,  early 

Oct.,  late 

2 

May,  mid. 

Chipping  Sparrow 

April  9 

Nov.  7 

May,  mid. 

Song  Sparrow 

Resident 

May  i 

DOMESTICATION    OF    OUR    WILD    BIRDS        343 


BIRDS.     (LATITUDE  OF  NEW  YORK.) 


Young 
remain 
in  West 

Days 

Nest 

Eggs 

Location 

*%?             MateHa, 

Num- 
ber 

Color,  etc. 

Hollow  in  tree 

4-10 

Grass 

4-6 

Pale  blue 

or  box 

Crotch  of  tree 

5-13 

Rootlets,  grass,  mud 

3-5 

Greenish  blue 

In  sapling 

8 

Rootlets,    mud,    fine 

3-5 

Greenish  blue 

grass 

Low,  thick 

0-5 

Twigs,  rootlets 

3-6 

Grayish  white,  finely 

bushes  or  on 

speckled  with  cin- 

ground 

namon 

Thicket  or  dense 

3-3° 

Twigs,  leaves,   grass, 

3-5 

Dark  greenish  blue 

tree 

rootlets 

Hollow  tree,  box, 

i-? 

Twigs,  grass 

6-8 

Wine  or  flesh  colored, 

or  cranny 

finely  speckled 

Hollow      trees, 

4-20 

Moss,  grass,  feathers, 

6-8 

White,   spotted,    and 

birch    stubs 

plant  down 

speckled  with  brown 

Pensile  in  fork 

15-70 

Bark     fibers,     papsr, 

3-4 

White,  black  spots  on 

of  branch 

plant   down 

larger  end 

Fruit  and  shade 

3~25 

Twigs,  bark,  grasses, 

3-5 

Pale     bluish     green, 

trees 

leaves,  moss,  rootlets 

spotted   with    dark 

On  rafters,  etc., 

Mud,     twigs,     grass, 

4-6 

White,   spotted   with 

ledges,  eaves, 

feathers 

brownish 

holes  in  trees, 

Same  as  above 

4-7 

White 

bird  houses 

Twigs,  grass,  feathers 

White 

Bird  houses 

Straws,  twigs 

4-5 

White 

clear  of  trees 

Trees 

3-20 

Twigs,    weed    stems, 

3-4 

Pale  bluish  or  green- 

-tendrils 

ish  white,  brownish 

markings 

Bushes  or  trees 

5-20 

Fine  twigs,  rootlets 

4-5 

Pale  blue,  with  brown 

markings 

14 

Pendent      from 

8-50 

String,     hair,     plant 

4-6 

White,     with      dark 

branches 

fibers 

scrawls  and  blotches 

On   ground,   in 

Grasses 

4-7 

Grayish    white,   with 

grass 

brownish  spots  and 

blotches 

H 

Trees 

4-40 

Weeds,    grass,    moss, 

3-5 

White,   spotted   with 

plant  down,  rootlets 

umber 

14 

On    beams    or 

6-2O 

Moss,  mud,  hairs 

4-6 

White,  rarely  spotted 

ledges 

with  brown 

Low  trees  or  vine- 

4-10 

Sticks,  grass 

3-5 

Pale  bluish  green 

covered  bushes 

Bushes  and  trees 

5-20 

Twigs,  grasses,  root- 

4-6 

Bluish,  brownish 

lets,  hairs 

markings 

On  ground,  rare- 

Grasses, dead  leaves, 

4-6 

White,  or  bluish  white, 

ly  on  bushes 

bark 

covered  with  brown- 

ish markings 

344  NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 

two  before  this  occurs.  The  preceding  table,  which  we 
may  call  a  Life  Chart  of  a  few  of  our  commoner  species, 
may  serve  to  bring  a  number  of  points  of  interest  together 
in  convenient  form  for  reference.  It  would  be  well  if, 
each  spring,  classes  in  nature  study  could  make  a  table 
of  this  kind  for  their  own  localities.  This  would  bring 
out  variations  in  season  from  year  to  year,  define  these 
periods  more  exactly,  and  furnish  incentive  and  guidance 
to  active  work  in  supplying  homes  and  nesting  materials. 

Organized  Bird  Protection  ;  the  Audubon  Societies.  —  "  As  for 
the  birds  that  are  the  special  object  of  preservation  of 
your  Society,  we  should  keep  them  just  as  we  keep  trees. 
They  add  immeasurably  to  the  wholesome  beauty  of  life."  1 

These  words  of  President  Roosevelt  express  the  matter 
in  a  nutshell.  We  should  have  birds  about  our  homes 
just  as  we  have  trees  and  flowers.  In  planning  for  farms 
or  gardens,  for  public  parks  or  for  homes,  we  should 
always  provide  for  birds.  Bird  life,  in  fact,  is  the  natural 
complement  of  plant  life,  both  useful  and  beautiful. 

To  impart  to  our  work  for  the  birds  the  universality 
that  shall  render  it  effective  for  the  whole  country  we 
need  organization.  Happily,  this  is  provided  for  in  the 
Audubon  Societies,  now  established  in  twenty-two  states. 
Both  teachers  and  pupils  may  join  the  societies  of  their 
respective  states,  and  it  would  be  none  too  many  if  every 
nature-study  class  should  form  a  branch  Audubon  Society. 
The  teachers  receive  suggestion  and  help,  and  the  chil- 
dren feel  the  inspiration  there  is  in  all  working  together 
for  a  cause  of  truly  national  importance,  —  the  universal 
protection,  domestication,  and  increase  of  our  native  birds. 

1  From  a  letter  of  Theodore  Roosevelt,  Bird-Lore,  vol.  ii,  p.  98. 


DOMESTICATION    OF    OUR   WILD    BIRDS        345 

Objections  have  been  raised  to  the  usual  Audubon  Society  pledges, 
due  to  the  negative  elements  that  enter  largely  into  all  those  I  have 
seen.  The  objections  do  not  hold  with  regard  to  a  clear,  positive 
statement  of  purpose,  which  is  always  of  value  in  active  organizations, 
and  as  such  a  pledge  I  would  submit  the  following : 

I  promise  to  do  all  I  can  for  our  native  birds  by  treating  them 
with  kindness  and  by  providing  them  with  food,  water,  and  homes. 

The  official  organ  of  the  Audubon  Societies  is  Bird-Lore  (The 
Macmillan  Company,  Harrisburg,  Penn.),  each  number  of  which  con- 
tains an  Audubon  Society  directory.  From  this  any  who  wish  infor- 
mation about  organizing  branch  societies  may  obtain  the  address  of 
their  State  Secretary. 

MRS.  BRIGHTWEN.     Wild  Nature  won  by  Kindness.     London,  1898. 

CHARLES  A.  BABCOCK.     Bird  Day.     Silver,  Burdett  &  Co.,  1901. 

F.  E.  L.  BEAL.  "  Some  Common  Birds  in  their  Relation  to  Agriculture," 
Farmer's  Bulletin  No.  54,  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture, 
Washington,  1898. 

D.  LANGE.     Our  Native  Birds.     The  Macmillan  Company,  1899. 


346 


CHAPTER    XXI 

TAMING  AND  FEEDING  BIRDS 

Like  one  in  danger ;  cautious, 
I  offered  him  a  crumb, 
And  he  unrolled  his  feathers 
And  rowed  him  softer  home 

Than  oars  divide  the  ocean, 
Too  silver  for  a  seam, 
Or  butterflies,  off  banks  of  noon, 
Leap,  plashless,  as  they  swim. 

EMILY  DICKINSON,  In  the  Garden. 

FEEDING  and  taming  go  together,  for  the  only  way  to 
a  bird's  heart  is  through  his  crop.  If  we  have  a  tempting 
morsel  in  the  palm,  they  will  fly  to  our  hands.  Had  Emily 
Dickinson  offered  a  meal  worm  instead  of  the  "crumb," 
the  result  might  have  been  different  (see  Fig.  138).  We 
must  learn  enough  about  a  bird's  food  to  know  what  to  offer, 
and  we  need  to  come  into  sympathy  with  a  bird's  life  to 
know  how  to  offer  it  so  that  the  proffer  may  be  accepted. 

As  indicated  on  the  chart,  bird  foods  may  be  divided 
into  vegetable  and  animal,  and  among  the  latter  different 
kinds  of  insects  form  the  most  important  part.  Artificial 
foods  will  also  require  a  little  attention  for  reasons  to  be 
developed  later.  It  is  a  fortunate  coincidence  that  many 
of  the  most  useful  birds  are  also  the  most  beautiful  and 
our  best  songsters.  We  may  divide  them  into  three  classes. 

347 


348 


NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 


The  first  class  includes  those  that  are  wholly  or  almost 
wholly  insectivorous  :  the  swallows  and  martins,  wrens, 
vireos,  flycatchers,  warblers,  cuckoos,  night  hawks,  whip- 
poor-wills,  swifts,  and  humming  birds.  We  cannot  have 
too  many  of  these  birds.  All  they  need  >s  safe  homes  and 
water,  and  they  should  be  encouraged  and  protected  up 
to  the  very  limit  of  insect  food.  We  should  not  attempt 


• 


FIG.  138.  X2.  E.  D. 

A  wild  robin  tamed  to  come  at  call  by  means  of  a  few  meal  worms. 
(Photograph  by  the  author,  1901) 

to  keep  one  in  confinement  for  any  length  of  time  unless 
we  have  an  enormous  supply  of  suitable  insects,  and 
even  then,  with  some  of  them,  their  manner  of  snapping 
insects  on  the  wing  is  so  different  from  that  of  picking 
them  up  from  the  ground  that  we  could  hardly  expect  to 
feed  them  adequately  or  give  them  sufficient  freedom  for 
health.  Those  birds,  however,  that  do  not  catch  their 
food  on  the  wing,  such  as  the  wrens,  vireos,  warblers, 


TAMING    AND    FEEDING    BIRDS 


349 


cuckoos,  and  the  humming  bird,  are  easily  tamed  and  may 
be  fed  indefinitely  in  confinement  if  the  supply  of  suitable 
insects  is  at  hand. 

The  second  class  includes  birds  that  by  preference  feed 
on  insects  but  are  able  to  vary  their  diet  to  fruits,  nuts, 
or  grains  when  insects  fail.  The  bluebird,  robin,  wood 
thrush,  mocking  bird,  brown  thrasher,  catbird  and  all  other 
thrushes,  chickadee,  cedar  bird,  grosbeak,  meadow  lark, 
grackle,  oriole,  and  woodpecker 
belong  in  this  class.  For  these 
the  best  work  must  consist  in 
planting  and  preserving  such 
trees,  shrubs,  and  vines  as  will 
insure  them  an  abundant  supply 
of  their  favorite  fruits.  If  de- 
sirable, any  of  this  class  may  be 
fed  in  confinement  on  fruits, 
meats,  bread,  eggs,  potatoes, 
and  meal  worms,  as  will  be 
described  presently.  The  birds 
in  this  class  that  spend  the  FlG-  '39- 
winter  with  us  —  chickadees, 
nuthatches,  brown  creepers,  and 
woodpeckers  —  may  be  attracted  to  our  window  sills  and 
made  very  tame  by  supplying  them  with  cracked  nuts,  suet, 
meat,  bones,  doughnuts,  etc.,  during  severe  weather. 

The  two  classes  already  described  are  commonly  known 
to  bird  fanciers  as  "soft-billed"  birds.  To  the  third  class 
belong  the  seed-eating,  "  hard-billed  "  birds,  the  canary, 
goldfinch,  song  and  chipping  sparrows  ;  in  short,  all  the 
finches  and  sparrows.  These  birds  are  most  easily 


PORTRAIT  OF  A  YOUNG 
BLUEBIRD 
(By  Myron  W.  Stickney) 


350  NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 

and  hence  most  commonly  kept  in  confinement,  because 
they  can  be  fed  almost  entirely  on  seeds.  Outside,  it  is 
only  necessary  to  keep  a  pile  of  hay-loft  sweepings,  with 
its  grass  and  weed  seeds,  or  to  scatter  millet,  sunflower 
seeds,  or  grain  in  some  sunny,  sheltered  spot  to  have  such 
as  remain  with  us  all  winter  long  or  arrive  early  in  the 
spring  feeding  under  our  windows. 

To  effect  the  practical  taming  of  the  wild  birds  about 
our  homes  we  should  do  everything  calculated  to  attract 
them  and  to  give  them  a  feeling  of  security  in  our  pres- 
ence ;  and  food  is  the  great  loadstone.  When  we  begin 
this  positive  work  little  attention  need  be  given  to  the 
negative  side,  z>.,  refraining  from  such  things  as  disturb 
and  frighten  them  away. 

It  is  comparatively  useless  to  attempt  to  tame  an  old 
bird.  A  bird  is  a  quick-lived,  extremely  sensitive  creature, 
keenly  intelligent  within  narrow  limits.  The  ability  to 
help  itself  within  this  narrow  range,  that  a  child  takes 
years  to  learn,  the  little  bird  masters  in  so  many  weeks  or 
even  days  ;  hence  a  bird's  brain  is  so  organized  that  one 
decisive  lesson  commonly  lasts  its  lifetime.  This  fact 
we  must  bear  in  mind  when  we  seek  to  tame  a  bird,  and 
one  other  fact  also,  which  is  that  a  bird  is  a  timid, 
defenseless  creature  whose  life  for  ages  has  depended 
chiefly  on  ability  to  fly.  With  so  many  enemies  on  every 
side,  a  bird  must  interpret  any  quick  movement  as  a  hos- 
tile act.  Its  eyes  are  probably  keener  than  ours.  So  in 
approaching  a  bird  we  can  come  quite  near  if  we  are 
careful  net  to  look  at  it  and  if  we  zigzag  toward  it  or 
pretend  to  be  looking  for  something  else.  For  a  bird  to 
stop  singing  is  a  signal  that  we  have  come  as  close  as  we 


TAMING    AND    FEEDING    BIRDS 


351 


dare  until  we  reassure  it  of  our  good  intentions,  possibly 
by  withdrawing  a  little  or  by  sitting  down  and  pretending 
to  look  the  other  way.  We  must  always  remember  that 
one  careless  or  hostile  act 
may  make  a  bird  "wild" 
for  life. 

I  mention  these  points 
in  order  that  we  may 
unite  intelligently  in 
taming  the  birds  about 
our  homes  by  doing  only 
those  things  that  assure 
them  and  make  them  feel 
that  we  are  their  friends. 
Among  the  little  acts  by 
which  we  are  able  to 
give  this  assurance  the 
proffer  of  food  is  the 
most  effective.  Our 
little  friend  in  the 
picture  proves  that  we 
may  have  them  coming 
to  our  hands,  and  this 
is  now  such  a  familiar 

From  Bird-Lore,  Vol.  I.     By  permission. 
(Photograph  by  Mr.  George  Wood) 


FIG.  140.     CHIPPY  TAMED  TO  FEED  FROM 
A  CHILD'S  HAND 


experience  that  there  is 

no  longer  any  doubt  that 

a  general    movement   to   domesticate  our  common   wild 

birds    would    be    successful.      John    Burroughs    had    the 

robins  in  his  garden  so  tame  that  they  would  perch  on 

his  knee,  waiting  for  him  to  turn  up  a  worm.     The  song 

sparrows  and  humming  birds  perched  upon  Celia  Thaxter's 


352  NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 

arms  as  she  busied  herself  with  her  flowers,  and  Mrs. 
Treat  has  long  had  the  birds  as  tame  around  her  home. 
These  are  leaders  who  have  shown  how  readily  the  birds 
respond  to  domestication. 

People  not  infrequently  say  that  wild  birds  should  be 
wild.  It  is  not  "natural"  for  them  to  be  tame.  Why 
man's  best  friends,  so  beautiful,  so  graceful  in  every  act, 
so  harmless  and  so  important,  should  not  be  sufficiently 
domesticated  to  look  upon  man  as  a  friend  rather  than 
as  an  enemy  is  a  mystery  indeed.  That  it  is  "  natural " 
for  birds  not  to  fear  man  is  abundantly  attested  by 
their  behavior  on  islands  to  which  unnatural  human 
abuses  have  not  extended  and  in  wildernesses  where 
man  is  seldom  seen.  Furthermore,  I  have  never  known 
young  birds  in  the  nest  to  show  "instinctive"  fear  of 
man.  If  a  nestling  be  taken  without  the  least  fright 
and  without  hearing  the  cries  of  the  parents,  it  is 
practically  a  tame  bird  from  the  first.  It  will  take  food 
eagerly  from  the  hand,  follow  one  about,  beg,  and  from 
the  first  day  act  toward  a  person  as  toward  its  own 
parent.  The  same  is  true  of  nestlings  not  quite  able 
to  fly  that  are  picked  up  on  the  ground.  If  this  can 
be  done  without  frightening  them,  they  will  often  immedi- 
ately perch  on  the  finger  and  feed  from  the  hand.  I 
have  tested  this  with  young  vireos,  chipping  sparrows, 
orioles,  grackles,  and  repeatedly  with  young  robins,  which 
some  even  put  down  in  their  books  as  untamable.  To 
demonstrate  this  let  any  one  use  ordinary  care  not  to 
startle  or  try  to  grab  the  little  stranger.  Think  what  a 
monster  the  open  hand  must  seem  to  a  bird.  The  grabbing 
of  a  bird  must  be,  from  its  point  of  view,  nothing  short  of 


TAMING    AND    FEEDING    BIRDS 


353 


being  swallowed  alive.  It  is  a  rare  lesson  in  gentleness 
to  capture  a  young  bird  without  frightening  it,  but  if 
successfully  done,  your  bird  is  practically  tame.  If  even 
a  young  bird  is  caught  after  a  severe  chase,  it  is  likely  to 
be  days,  weeks,  and  even  months,  before  the  effects  of 
its  fright  can  be  obliterated, 
and  I  have  known  one  case 
of  a  young  robin  that  had  not 
recovered  from  the  effect  of 
such  treatment  in  connec- 
tion with  its  capture  after 
more  than  a  year. 

I  have  one  reason  for 
mentioning  these  facts.  It 
is  not  that  I  wish  children 
to  catch  and  tame  birds  to 
keep  in  cages.  One  tame 
bird  at  liberty  about  a  home 
is  worth  a  hundred  in  cap- 
tivity. The  reason  is,  in 
a  word,  that  thousands  of 
fledgelings  yearly  leave  the 
nest  a  day  or  two  before 
their  wings  are  quite  strong  enough  to  fly,  and  fall  a 
prey  to  cats.  No  work  in  the  entire  nature  course  is 
more  valuable  either  in  humanizing  influences  for  the 
children  or  in  practical  service  in  fostering  and  increas- 
ing  our  valuable  bird  life  than  this  tiding  of  the  little 
orphans  over  these  first  hard  days  out  of  the  nest. 
With  our  rapidly  decreasing  bird  life,  the  children 
owe  this  work  to  the  birds,  to  the  community,  and  to 


FIG.  141.      A  GOOD  ORPHAN'S  HOME 
FOR  A  DAY  OR  Two  UNTIL  THE 

WINGS  GROW  STRONG 
(Photograph  by  Myron  W.  Stickney) 


354  NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 

themselves.  But  in  order  that  it  may  effect  the  desired 
saving  of  birds,  the  children  should  be  carefully  instructed 
in  the  work. 

A  nest  of  robins  is  in  the  cherry  tree.  We  have  been 
careful  to  disturb  them  as  little  as  possible.  We  have 
kept  the  water  fresh,  dug  worms  for  them  in  the  garden, 
and  with  every  look  and  movement  have  tried  to  assure 
them  that  they  are  welcome.  Stray  cats  that  have  worried 
them  we  have  driven  off.  Finally  the  most  ambitious 
of  the  overflowing  nest  tries  his  wings  too  soon  and  falls  to 
the  ground.  Both  birds  are  in  a  panic  of  alarm,  and  the 
little  wide-eyed  adventurer,  with  spotted  breast,  nest-down 
sticking  to  his  feathers,  and  stubby  tail  just  starting  to 
grow,  sits  in  the  grass  and  calls  loudly  for  help.  Now  is 
the  time  to  cultivate  patience  and  tact.  In  a  few  minutes 
the  old  birds  will  probably  quiet  down  and  go  off  in  search 
of  food.  Then  if  we  approach  slowly,  the  youngster  will 
quite  likely  open  his  bill  to  swallow  us,  when  we  can  let 
a  bit  of  earthworm  or  a  crushed  raspberry  fall  into  the 
yawning  chasm.  He  is  ravenous.  The  chasm  yawns 
again,  this  time  with  a  new  purpose,  and  in  less  than  five 
minutes  the  nestling  is  sitting  contentedly  on  our  hand 
and  gulping  down  berries  and  worms.  Then  the  little 
head  grows  heavy,  the  eyelids  droop,  and  Bob  is  asleep  in 
our  hand. 

What  we  do  now  depends  upon  how  much  time  we 
have  and  on  whether  or  not  we  wish  to  make  a  study  of 
the  food  of  a  young  robin.  Certain  it  is  that  returning 
it  to  the  nest  will  avail  nothing.  If  our  time  is  limited, 
we  may  place  it  in  a  cage  with  some  green  oilcloth  for  a 
roof  and  hang  in  the  tree  near  the  nest.  We  may  put 


TAMING    AND    FEEDING    BIRDS  355 

worms  and  berries  around  the  base  of  the  cage,  outside 
the  wires,  to  show  good  intentions,  and  we  shall  have 
the  pleasure  of  seeing  the  parent  birds  coming  regularly 
to  feed  its  occupant.  In  two  or  three  days  the  wings 
will  be  strong  enough  to  try  again,  and  if  the  bird  can 
fly  and  has  sense  enough  to  take  refuge  in  the  trees,  it 
may  be  given  its  liberty. 

Any  one  who  has  once  reared  a  young  bird  by  hand, 
even  from  the  time  it  leaves  the  nest  until  it  is  able  to 
shift  for  itself,  will  appreciate  the  fact  that  we  should  leave 
this  work  to  the  parent  birds  whenever  possible.  Still  an 
experience  of  this  sort  is  a  revelation  of  the  mysteries  of 
bird  life. 

The  first  thing  we  learn  is  that  a  nestling  does  not 
know  how  to  feed  itself.  We  may  pile  all  sorts  of  ber- 
ries and  worms  around  it,  but  it  simply  sits  and  clamors 
for  food.  Innumerable  young  birds  have  died  of  starva- 
tion at  this  juncture  in  the  hands  of  well-meaning  chil- 
dren, much  to  their  discouragement,  simply  because  they 
did  not  think  how  young  and  ignorant  their  pensioners 
really  were.  The  bird  is  probably  not  more  than  twelve 
or  fourteen  days  out  of  the  eggshell ;  and  for  those  few 
days  it  has  sat  in  the  nest,  with  nothing  to  do  but  to 
open  its  mouth  and  swallow  what  its  parents  put  into  it. 
Suddenly  it  sees  the  wide  world  around  it.  Its  mouth 
has  always  been  so  wide  open  that  it  could  not  see  what 
was  being  put  into  it.  How  is  it  to  know  berries  or 
worms  or  to  know  how  to  get  them  into  its  bill  ?  I  am 
convinced  from  careful  study  of  a  number  of  young  birds 
of  different  species  that  the  day  they  leave  the  nest  they 
do  not  know  either  of  these  things,  and  how  could  we 


356  NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 

expect  them  to,  —  twelve  days  out  of  the  egg  and  part  of 
one  out  of  the  nest  ? 

It  is  a  fascinating  study  to  discover  how  the  parent 
birds  tide  their  nestlings  over  this  most  difficult  period  of 
their  lives.  Ask  the  pupils  to  watch  a  family  of  birds  as 
the  young  leave  the  nest  and  to  describe  what  they  see. 
Olive  Thorne  Miller  writes  of  seeing  one  parent  bird 
call  her  young  one  into  a  berry  bush,  and  while  the 
youngster  clamored  for  food  and  held  its  mouth  wide 
open,  she  quietly  helped  herself,  as  much  as  to  say : 
"This  is  the  way  we  do  it.  See  ? "  But  the  young  one 
could  not  "see";  for  the  only  thing  it  had  ever  done  or 
knew  how  to  do  was  to  hold  its  mouth  open  and  flutter 
its  wings  and  beg;  and  it  must  have  thought  the  mother 
cruel  when  she  slipped  away,  leaving  it  alone  to  study  the 
lesson.  One  of  the  most  interesting  lessons  I  ever  saw 
was  given  by  my  big  cock  robin  to  his  class  of  four  young 
ones.  The  task  for  that  morning  was  evidently  to  learn 
how  to  catch  and  eat  earthworms.  It  was  a  drizzling 
morning  in  June.  All  the  youngsters  were  fully  fledged, 
and  each  appeared  about  as  large  as  the  daddy.  They  all 
hopped  along  in  a  group,  the  parent  a  little  in  the  lead. 
Soon  he  pounced  upon  a  large  worm,  and  while  he  tugged 
it  out  of  its  burrow,  what  did  the  young  ones  do  but  sit 
back,  hold  their  mouths  open,  flutter  their  wings,  and  beg  ? 
He  threw  the  worm,  squirming,  among  them.  Not  one 
attempted  to  touch  it.  He  picked  it  up  again  and,  whack- 
ing it  on  the  ground,  broke  it  into  bits.  Not  one  of  his 
class  offered  to  help.  They,  every  one,  simply  held  their 
mouths  open  and  begged.  He  tossed  the  squirming  bits 
on  the  ground  before  them.  Not  one  caught  the  idea, 


TAMING    AND    FEEDING    BIRDS  357 

and  finally  he  fed  a  piece  of  the  worm  to  each  one.  The 
same  lesson  was  repeated  with  the  next  worm,  and  the 
next,  and  so  on  for  nearly  an  hour  ;  but  never  a  youngster 
offered  to  do  anything  but  sit  up  and  beg.  That  teacher 
will  remain  a  model  of  patience  as  long  as  I  live.  It 
was  the  most  amusing  and  most  instructive  bit  of  bird 
life  I  ever  observed,  and  I  saw  in  a  flash  just  why  it 
is  that  a  young  bird  may  starve  with  food  piled  high 
around  it. 

How  long  this  period  of  helplessness  lasts  for  different 
birds  I  have  never  found  stated  in  the  books.  I  have 
found  it  to  be  from  two  to  five  days  with  young  robins. 
During  this  time  every  morsel  must  be  placed  in  the  young 
bird's  month,  and  it  should  be  fed  at  least  once  an  hour 
from  sunrise  to  sunset. 

What  is  a  nestling's  menu  for  a  day  ?  No  one  has 
answered  this  question.1  There  are  about  sixteen  meals  to 
be  accounted  for.  Are  they  varied  course  dinners,  with 
insects  and  fruit  for  dessert  ?  Are  they  rather  monotonous 
affairs  ?  Does  a  parent  bird  bring  worms  to  its  young 
for  one  meal,  grasshoppers  for  the  next,  and  berries  for 
the  third  or  do  they  get  the  same  thing  all  day  long  ? 
Do  they  make  no  intelligent  choice,  but  feed  whatever 
they  find  first  ?  These  questions  may  seem  farfetched, 
but  to  one  who  has  been  trying  his  hand  at  feeding  young 
birds  they  become  intensely  practical.  None  of  them  have 
been  answered,  so  far  as  I  know ;  but  the  fact  seems  to 

1  I  was  once  watching  five  young  cedar  birds  just  out  of  the  nest,  when 
the  mother  bird  flew  down  to  them.  They  were  all  in  a  row  on  a  twig, 
and  I  saw  her  drop  a  red  currant  into  each  of  the  open  mouths  in  turn. 
I  should  like  to  have  known  what  their  next  meal  was. 


358  NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 

be,  that  while  different  species  doubtless  have  quite  differ- 
ent habits  of  feeding,  all  birds  seek  and  enjoy  great  variety 
in  foods. 

As  to  the  choice  we  make,  the  only  rule  to  follow  is  to 
provide  as  nearly  as  possible  the  natural  foods  of  the 
species.  The  food  chart  tells  us  nearly  all  that  is  known 
on  this  subject.  With  any  species  we  have  only  to  fol- 
low out  the  line  from  the  name  and  read  at  a  glance  what 
the  bird  is  known  to  eat.  If  the  exact  species  is  not  on 
the  chart,  we  may  study  the  foods  of  closely  related  birds 
and  not  go  far  astray.  We  should  also  bear  in  mind  that 
even  the  finches  and  sparrows  feed  their  young  as  long 
as  they  are  in  the  nest,  chiefly,  or  wholly,  on  insects. 
Spiders  are  often  called,  among  bird  fanciers,  the  best 
medicine  a  bird  can  have,  and  I  have  found  this  true.  If 
your  bird  seems  to  be  inclined  to  droop,  a  meal  of  these 
will  almost  invariably  act  like  magic.  It  will  be  noticed 
that  every  bird  in  the  chart  eats  grasshoppers.  These 
can  generally  be  caught  in  abundance  toward  the  end  of 
summer.  At  this  season  they  are  filled  with  eggs  and 
form  a  most  nutritious  diet.  Grasshoppers  would  make 
a  most  valuable  insect  bird  food  for  winter  use  if  caught 
at  this  time  and  dried.  They  should  be  scalded  and  dried 
thoroughly,  and  then  if  scalded  again  a  short  time  before 
feeding,  they  are  nearly  as  good  as  fresh.  "  Ants'  eggs," 
which  are  the  pupae  of  ants,  are  also  a  valuable  bird  food. 
They  may  be  had  of  bird  dealers  for  about  a  dollar  a 
pound,  but  for  a  dry  food  I  think  grasshoppers  may  well 
take  their  place.  For  the  sake  of  variety  the  children 
may  be  encouraged  to  try  gathering  a  few  from  under- 
neath stones  and  logs  or  from  ant-hills. 


TAMING    AND    FEEDING    BIRDS  359 

The  best  insect  food  for  all  soft-billed  birds  is  meal 
worms,  and  every  child  that  wishes  to  help  young  birds  in 
the  way  suggested  or  care  for  any  wounded  bird  that  may 
fall  in  his  way  should  learn  how  to  rear  them  and  keep  a 
supply  on  hand.  They  are  also  excellent  food  for  winter 
birds  and  for  robins  and  bluebirds  and  many  others  that 
come  early  in  the  spring.  We  do  not  always  have  the 
time  to  collect  insects  in  sufficient  quantity,  but  we  can 
always  have  a  supply  of  meal  worms  if  we  once  learn  how 
to  rear  them. 

The  meal  worm  is  the  larva  of  a  black  beetle  which 
can  be  found  from  May  to  October  about  granaries,  mills, 
where  feed  is  kept  in  stables,  in  the  dust  of  haylofts,  in 
pigeon  lofts,  and  meal  chests.  The  eggs  are  laid  in  these 
places  and  when  hatched  and  fully  grown  the  larvae  are 
smooth  yellow,  Tenebrio  molitor,  or  blackish,  T.  obscitrus, 
"worms,"  about  an  inch  in  length.  While  commonly 
looked  upon  as  pests,  for  feeding  birds  they  are  well-nigh 
indispensable.  The  writer  has  paid  twenty-five  cents  a 
dozen  for  them  to  feed  mocking  birds,  and  the  market  price 
by  the  wholesale  is  $1.50  per  thousand.  If  we  know  how 
to  use  them,  the  worms  in  a  meal  chest  may  thus  be  worth 
many  times  the  value  of  the  meal,  chest  and  all. 

Directions  in  the  bird  books  for  raising  meal  worms  are 
quite  misleading,  and  in  order  to  go  to  work  intelligently  we 
must  learn  the  life  story  from  egg  to  egg.  The  first  fact  to 
learn  is  that  the  insect  is  single  brooded,  i.e.,  it  requires  an 
entire  season  to  complete  its  growth.  The  beetles  may  be 
found  laying  eggs  from  May  until  freezing  weather  in 
the  fall.  The  early  eggs  will  produce  larva)  that  are  full- 
grown  by  September  or  October  of  the  same  season,  and 


360  NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 

larvae  from  the  late  eggs  do  not  attain  their  growth  until 
about  midsummer  of  the  next  season.  A  female  beetle 
lays  from  twenty  to  fifty  eggs.  While  practically  any  fari- 
naceous material — corn  meal,  ground  feed,  cracker  crumbs, 
bread  crusts  —  is  suitable,  feeding  experiments  have  proved 
that  wheat,  in  some  form  or  other,  is  preferred  and  yields 
the  best  specimens. 

The  easiest  way  to  rear  a  supply  is  to  imitate  nature, 
i.e.,  make  a  heap  of  bran  and  shorts  in  some  out-of-the- 
way  corner  in  the  barn.  Ground  feed,  corn  meal,  oatmeal, 
flour,  bread  crusts  —  any  of  these,  discarded  for  fresher 
supplies  —  may  be  used.  The  beetles  will  find  it  and  do  all 
the  rest.  It  is  well  to  tuck  into  different  parts  of  the  pile 
raw  potatoes  or  apples  to  supply  water  from  time  to  time 
as  they  are  eaten,  and  the  whole  should  be  covered  with 
sacks  or  pieces  of  carpet.  Woolen  rags  are  called  for 
in  the  usual  directions,  but  the  number  of  clothes  moths 
that  they  may  breed  makes  their  use  unadvisable,  and  cot- 
ton cloths  or  burlap  seem  to  answer  about  as  well.  The 
only  difficulties  with  this  method  are  that  other  insects 
are  apt  to  find  the  material  and  become  a  nuisance  and 
that  rats  and  mice,  if  they  are  allowed  on  the  premises, 
may  devour  practically  the  whole  crop. 

Perhaps  a  better  way  is  to  fill  a  tight  box  or  earthen 
jar  half  full  of  the  food  material,  put  in  scraps  of  old 
leather,  cover  with  woolen  cloths,  and  have  a  lid  of  wire 
screen.  Put  in  a  few  hundred  larvae  or  beetles  and  leave 
undisturbed,  except  to  insert  a  raw  potato  from  time  to 
time.  If  this  be  done  about  April,  a  good  supply  of 
larvae  will  be  obtained  for  use  the  following  fall,  winter, 
or  spring. 


TAMING    AND    FEEDING    BIRDS  361 

Where  natural  insect  food  is  not  obtainable  a  number 
of  artificial  bird  foods  are  available,  the  chief  of  which 
is  the  so-called  "  mocking-bird  food"  of  the  bird  stores. 
But  if  we  bear  in  mind  what  has  been  said  of  variety,  the 
use  of  this  somewhat  troublesome  mixture  is  not  a  neces- 
sity. The  people  in  Ireland,  it  is  said,  feed  their  pet 
birds  chiefly  on  mashed  potato ;  in  Scotland,  on  oatmeal ; 
in  China,  on  rice.  Bread  and  milk  form  a  good  staple  food 
for  young  soft-billed  birds.  Vary  this  diet  with  berries, 
a  few  insects,  the  yolk  of  hard-boiled  eggs,  scrapings  from 
raw  beefsteak  or  finely  chewed  or  minced  cooked  meat,  and 
almost  any  bird  of  this  class  will  thrive.  Finely  chewed 
nuts  are  also  eaten  with  great  relish  and  may  be  given  with 
advantage  once  or  twice  a  week. 

These  directions  are  given  with  the  primary  purpose  of 
teaching  children  enough  to  enable  them  to  save  fledge- 
lings and  wounded  birds,  tame  them,  and  let  them  go 
when  they  are  able  to  take  care  of  themselves.  If  they 
remain  tame,  so  that  they  will  come  at  call,  build  their 
nests  near  by,  and  allow  us  to  study  their  foods  and  habits 
at  close  range,  they  will  be  the  most  interesting  pets  in  the 
neighborhood ;  and  in  this  way  practical  domestication 
may  be  extended  to  many  of  our  valuable  wild  birds. 

A  secondary  purpose  has  to  do  with  practical  lessons 
upon  bird  foods.  Numbers  of  birds  have  been  shot  in 
different  parts  of  the  country,  and  the  contents  of  their 
stomachs  have  been  analyzed  to  discover  what  the  species 
feeds  upon.  This  has  resulted  in  acquisition  of  much 
valuable  knowledge,  which  has  stimulated  interest  in 
better  laws  and  in  the  more  efficient  protection  of  bird 
life.  But  this  method  is  quite  imperfect  and  cannot  be 


\ 


362 


NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 


recommended  for  school  use ;  while  feeding  tests  with  nest- 
lings, conducted  in  the  manner  suggested  for  the  toad, 
would  open  the  eyes  of  children  to  the  work  birds  per- 
form in  nature  as  no  amount  of  book  work  could  do. 
Toward  the  end  of  the  spring  term  the  fledgelings  that  the 
children  are  rescuing  should  be  utilized  for  such  study, 
and  not  infrequently  a  crippled  bird  that  could  not  be 


FIG.  142.    A  CONTRAST  IN  HOUSEKEEPING 
Nests  of  chipping  sparrow  and  English  sparrow 

safely  liberated  may  come  into  the  possession  of  the  school 
and  may  be  kept  for  such  tests.  The  usual  objections  to 
caged  birds  would  not  apply  to  such  cases. 

But,  after  all,  the  taming  of  a  bird  is  the  great  lesson, 
—  great  chiefly  for  its  influence  upon  the  child.  It  is  a 
lesson  in  gentleness,  tact,  and  patience  that  cannot  be 
excelled  in  the  whole  realm  of  nature  study.  If  a  child 
has  once  accomplished  this  feat,  its  civilizing  influence 
may  go  with  him  as  long  as  he  lives. 

Books  about  birds  are  now  so  numerous  and  so  acces- 
sible to  all  that  I  hesitate  to  name  any,  since  space  forbids 


TAMING    AND    FEEDING    BIRDS  363 

giving  a  complete  list.  A  few  hours  spent  in  the  public 
library  with  the  different  authors  may  spare  the  purse  and 
save  the  shelves  from  a  burden  of  books  that  will  be  opened 
but  once.  We  may  leave  to  specialists  the  treatises  which 
deal  chiefly  with  classification  and  museum  methods  of 
bird  study.  Happily,  we  have  a  goodly  number  of  books 
that  enter  into  the  spirit  of  bird  life.  We  will  follow  these 
and  still  bear  in  mind  that  the  great  book  lies  daily  open 
before  us  in  the  bird  life  about  our  homes. 

Natural  history  is  taught  in  infant  schools  by  pictures  stuck  up 
against  walls,  and  such  like  mummery.  A  moment's  notice  of 
a  redbreast  pecking  at  a  winter's  hearth  is  worth  it  all.  WILLIAM 
WORDSWORTH. 


f 


364 


CHAPTER    XXII 

ELEMENTARY  FORESTRY 

THE  CULTURE  AND  APPRECIATION  OF  TREES 

Who  does  his  duty  is  a  question 

Too  complex  to  be  solved  by  me, 
But  he,  I  venture  the  suggestion, 

Does  part  of  his  that  plants  a  tree. 

LOWELL. 

To  surround  the  home  and  schoolhouse  and  to  shade 
the  roadsides  with  trees  is  a  worthy  purpose  about  which 
to  group  our  studies,  and  without  some  such  aim  what  is 
learned  about  bark,  leaves,  and  forms  of  tree  tops  one  day 
may  be  forgotten  the  next.  As  with  flowers  the  inner 
purpose  is  to  develop  an  enduring  interest,  love,  and  appre- 
ciation of  trees  that  shall  make  impossible  their  so  com- 
mon injury  and  abuse.  To  this  end  we  must  again  have 
recourse  to  the  fundamental  principle  of  "  doing." 

Ask  the  pupils  to  write  a  description  from  memory  of 
the  trees  about  their  homes,  telling  the  different  kinds  they 
know,  giving  the  story  of  their  planting,  the  rapidity  of 
their  growth,  their  present  size,  and  other  points  of  inter- 
est. For  another  writing  lesson  the  pupils  may  sketch  a 
plan  giving  the  kinds  of  trees  they  would  like  to  rear  and 
plant  about  the  schoolhouse.  These  exercises  will  serve 
to  bring  out  what  the  children  know  about  trees,  and  by 
giving  some  attention  to  the  subject  each  year,  according 

365 


;66 


NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 


to  the  grade  plan,  we  may  teach  a  working  knowledge  of 
from  twenty  to  forty  important  forest  trees  during  the 
school  course. 

It  has  seemed  to  me  that  the  key  to  the  situation  lies 
in  a  knowledge  of  the  seeds  of  trees  and  methods  of 
saving  and  germinating  them.  A  tree  seed  in  the  act  of 
sprouting  is  one  of  the  inspiring  things  in  nature.  The 
possibilities  contained  in  it,  the  size  to  which  it  may 
grow,  the  beauty  it  may  develop,  the  long  years  it  may 
live,  the  infinite  numbers  of  seeds  it  may  produce,  all 

,      stretch  out  into  a  vista 

before  us.  It  is  here, 
too,  that  we  grasp  the 
lever  with  which  to  do 
something  worth  while. 
Too  much  of  our  tree 
study  is  passive  and 
selfish  and  lacking  in  the 
ideality  and  altruism  of 
our  grandfathers  who 
planted  the  trees  we  now  enjoy f  A  bright  young  man 
recently  said  to  me :  "I  woulcl  have  as  soon  thought 
of  planting  a  gold  mine  as  of  planting  a  chestnut  tree." 
And  so  we  have  "four  boys  to  one  chestnut."  But  why 
should  this  be  so  ?  What  a  tremendous  force  in  nature 
we  lay  hold  of  if  we  have  the  faith  to  pb.ce  a  seed  in  the 
earth  and  give  it  a  chance  to  grow  !  Centuries  of  sunshine 
and  rain  will  do  the  rest. 

Beginning,  then,  with  the  seeds  let  the  children  bring 
such  as  they  can  find  to  make  a  school  collection  of 
the  kinds  most  desirable  to  plant  in  the  neighborhood. 


FIG.  144.    SEEDLING  TREES 
Reared  in  a  schoolroom 


ELEMENTARY    FORESTRY  367 

Encourage  them  to  notice  when  each  species  blossoms 
and  ripens  its  seed.  A  calendar,  like  that  suggested  for 
the  flowers,  may  be  put  on  the  blackboard  as  a  stimulus 
and  reward  for  diligent  observation.  Many  trees  have 
such  inconspicuous  flowers  that  the  children  may  need 
some  help,  especially  in  the  lower  grades  ;  and  often  the 
stamens  and  pistils  are  borne  on  separate  flowers  and 
sometimes  on  different  trees.1 

The  next  topic  is  methods  of  germinating  tree  seeds. 
When  we  relegate  the  discussions  of  "  cotyledons,"  "  plu- 
mules," and  "  radicals"  to  high-school  or  college  botany 
we  may  utilize  some  of  the  wealth  of  tree  seeds  that  fall 
on  our  streets  and  forests  every  year  for  truly  elementary 
studies  in  germination,  instead  of  confining  the  work  to 
beans,  peas,  squashes,  and  corn.  The  first  suggestions  as 
to  methods  of  planting  may  well  be  taken  from  the  trees 
themselves.  Encourage  each  child  to  observe  and  reason 
for  himself  and  then  write,  or  tell  in  the  lower  grades, 
how  the  tree  plants  its  own  seeds.  This  is  a  fine  study. 
Each  kind  has  a  method  of  its  own,  but  they  all  may  be 
grouped  for  convenience  as  follows. 

I.  Trees  that  ripen  their  seeds  in  the  spring.  —  Among  these 
are  the  elms,  soft  maples,  poplars,  cottonwoods,  and  wil- 
lows. They  all  scatter  their  seeds  to  the  winds.  The 
seeds  are  light,  and  when  they  reach  the  ground  they  are 
floated  by  the  rains  to  low,  moist  places,  —  the  banks  of 

1  My  attention  has  been  called  to  the  fact  that  single  nut  trees,  espe- 
cially the  chestnut,  where  they  are  not  indigenous,  fail  to  mature  nuts. 
This  is  probably  due  to  the  necessity  of  cross-pollination.  Thus,  instead 
of  planting  a  single  tree,  or  single  trees  far  apart,  better  results  might  be 
obtained  by  planting  in  groups. 


368  NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 

streams,  the  shores  of  ponds,  the  gutters  of  city  streets,— 
where  they  quickly  germinate  (except  the  red  elm,  which 
will  not  sprout  until  the  following  spring)  and,  if  condi- 
tions  remain  favorable,  produce   vigorous   seedlings   the 
same  season. 

2 .  Nut  seeds  that  ripen  in  the  fall.  —  Oak  acorns,  chestnuts, 
black  walnuts,   butternuts,  hickories,  hazels,  and  lindens 
fall  under    their  parent  trees,   and  their   rounded    forms 
enable  them  to  roll  into  holes  or  down  the  hillsides.     The 
trees  cover  them  with  their  leaves,  and  the  winter  snows 
bury  them.     The  spring  freshets  carry  many  of  them  down 
the  gullies  and  ravines  and  leave  them  buried  in  masses 
of  dead  leaves,  leaf  mould,  and  rubbish  along  their  courses. 
This  class  of  trees  also,  by  their  nutritious  nuts,  seeks 
the  aid  of  animals  in  the  dissemination  of  the  seeds  ;  the 
rows  of  nut  trees  along  our  stone  walls  show  how  well 
the  squirrels,  especially,  have  done  their  work.     To  this 
class  may  be  added  also  the  seeds  of   our  cone-bearing 
trees,  the  pines,  spruces,  and  larches,  but  they  are  largely 
disseminated  by  the  winds. 

3.  Seeds   in  fleshy  fruits,  —  Among  these  are  the  wild 
cherries,  hawthorns,  hackberries,  plums,  mulberries,  dog- 
woods, and  crab  apples.     The  fruits  of  most  of  these  roll 
into  holes  or  down  the  streams  with  the  nuts,  but  they 
also  hire  the  birds  to  plant  and  scatter,  and  most  of  the 
trees  of  this  class  that  we  have  were  probably  cared  for  in 
this  way. 

4.  Dry  seeds  that  ripen  in  the  autumn.  — The  ashes,  birches, 
hard  maples,  box  elders,  and  ironwoods,  like  the  soft  maple 
and  elm,  trust  their  seeds  to  the  winds  and  waters  to  dis- 
seminate and  plant. 


ELEMENTARY    FORESTRY  369 

5.  Seeds  borne  in  pods. — The  locusts  and  coffee  tree,  the 
catalpa,  the  Judas  tree,  and  acacias  have  hard,  dry  seeds, 
difficult  and  slow  to  germinate,  which  they  scatter  to  the 
winds. 

Taking  our  primary  suggestions  from  the  trees  them- 
selves, we  may  next  ask  the  children  to  observe,  in  case  of 
certain  trees  in  the  neighborhood,  about  how  many  of 
their  seeds  produce  trees.  Is  the  small  proportion  due 
to  failure  in  securing  favorable  conditions  to  germinate, 
or  are  the  seedlings  dried  up  or  overgrown  with  weeds 
before  they  become  strong  enough  to  take  care  of  them- 
selves ?  We  may  answer  this  question  in  a  general  way 
by  saying  that  the  trees  have  done  their  best  to  secure 
the  germination  of  the  seeds,  but  that  they  are  forced  to 
depend  largely  on  accidents  of  wind  and  water.  These 
may  take  them  to  unsuitable  places,  may  bury  them  too 
deep,  or  leave  them  exposed  to  dry  up.  What,  then,  may 
we  do  to  assist  the  trees  in  their  work  ?  We  may  help 
them  save  their  seeds,  we  may  plant  them  under  the  most 
favorable  conditions,  and  protect  the  seedlings  until  they 
are  strong  enough  to  take  care  of  themselves. 

Methods  of  saving  tree  seeds  is  a  large  subject,  and  I 
shall  give  only  a  few  hints,  in  the  hope  that  they  may  be 
helpful  in  making  a  beginning.1 

The  first  fact  to  bear  in  mind  is  that  most  tree  seeds 
lose  their  vitality  rapidly  and  hence  should  be  planted 
as  soon  as  possible  after  ripening.  Drying  is  the  thing 
chiefly  to  be  guarded  against,  especially  with  nuts,  acorns, 
and  similar  seeds ;  these  and  fall-ripening  seeds  may  best 

1  For  further  instructions,  see  Forestry  in  Minnesota,  Samuel  B.  Green, 
Delano,  Minn.,  1898. 


3/0  NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 

be  planted  as  soon  as  ripe.  If  it  be  desired  to  keep  them 
until  the  following  spring,  they  should  be  mixed  with  moist 
sand  and  left  out  of  doors  through  the  winter.  Small 
quantities  may  be  covered  with  a  flat  stone  or  an  over- 
turned sod  in  a  place  where  water  is  not  likely  to  stand. 

Seeds  of  fleshy  fruits  should  be  washed  clean  of  pulp 
and  planted  in  the  fall,  or  they  may  be  kept  under  stones 
or  sods  and  planted  in  the  spring.  Many  of  these  —  the 
pits  of  cherries,  plums,  and  peaches  —  germinate  better 
if  allowed  to  freeze  while  moist. 

A  number  of  the  tree  seeds  are  said  to  be  "  refractory  " 
from  the  fact  that  they  insist  upon  lying  dormant  one 
or  two  years  before  germinating.  The  locusts,  redbud, 
thorn  apples,  red  cedar,  and  lindens  belong  in  this  class. 
If  seedlings  do  not  appear  the  first  year,  keep  the  rows 
in  the  seed  bed  well  marked  and  watch  for  them  the 
following  spring.  Germination  may  be  hastened  with 
the  leguminous  seeds  and  the  lindens  by  pouring  boil- 
ing water  over  them  just  before  planting.  To  germi- 
nate the  red  cedar  soak  the  berries  in  strong  lye  for 
twenty-four  hours,  rub  off  the  pulp,  arid  then  mix  with 
moist  sand  and  let  them  freeze  during  the  winter.  Even 
after  this,  they  will  probably  not  germinate  until  the 
second  spring.  Unless  magnolia  seeds  be  thoroughly 
cleansed  of  their  gummy  coverings,  they  will  not  germi- 
nate at  all. 

Seeds  of  coniferous  trees  should  be  gathered  in  the 
early  fall,  before  the  cones  open.  As  soon  as  the  cones 
dry  they  open  and  release  the  seeds.  They  should  be 
mixed  with  dry  sand  and  kept  in  a  cold  place  until  the 
following  spring. 


ELEMENTARY    FORESTRY  3/1 

After  directions  for  saving  the  seed,  the  next  topics 
are  naturally  the  seed  bed  and  methods  of  planting. 

For  the  school  bed  select  a  strip  of  ground  about  three 
feet  wide,  sheltered  on  the  north  and  west  by  a  hedge  or 
fence.  Make  the  soil  mellow  to  a  depth  of  from  twelve  to 
fifteen  inches  and  enrich  it  with  leaf  mould  or  rotted  sods. 
Sow  the  seeds  in  drills  eight  inches  apart  across  the  bed, 
quite  thickly  since  many  tree  seeds  are  imperfect.  When 


FIG.  145.    A  TREELESS  STREET 

they  come  up,  thin  to  about  an  inch  apart  by  removing 
the  weaker  seedlings  after  danger  of  damping  off  is  past. 
The  depth  to  which  the  seeds  are  covered  is  a  matter 
of  great  importance,  more  tree  seeds  being  killed  by  too 
deep  covering  than  in  any  other  way.  Elm  seeds,  for 
example,  are  unable  to  germinate  if  planted  half  an  inch 
deep.  A  good  general  rule,  as  with  many  other  seeds,  is 
to  cover  them  about  their  own  diameter.  The  ground 


372 


NATURE    STUDY   AND    LIFE 


FIG.  146.    ABUSED  STREET  TREES 

should  be  neither  wet  nor  dry,  but  mellow,  and  after  the 
seeds  are  planted  it  should  be  lightly  rolled  or  packed 
and  then  well  wet  down.  If  the  bed  is  likely  to  dry  out 
quickly,  it  is  well  to  sprinkle  over  it  a  thin  layer  of  pine 
needles  or  sphagnum  moss,  but  this  should  be  drawn  aside 
when  the  plants  appear,  to  avoid  mould  and  damping  off. 


ELEMENTARY    FORESTRY  373 

Most  tree  seedlings  start  in  spots  partially  shaded  by 
other  trees,  and,  if  possible,  the  bed  should  be  located 
where  it  will  be  shaded  in  the  afternoon.  The  two  dan- 
gers to  which  the  little  trees  are  subject  are  drying  and 
burning  up  in  the  sun,  and  damping  off  in  the  shade 
and  wet.  If  natural  shade  be  not  at  hand,  a  .convenient 
screen  may  be  made  by  nailing  laths  on  a  frame  the  width 
of  a  lath  apart.  Supported  on  little  posts  one  or  two  feet 
above  the  bed,  this  will  give  half-shade. 

Where  land  is  not  available  the  children  may  rear  their 
trees  in  flowerpots  or  in  window  boxes,  and  the  main  idea 
be  attained,  —  that  of  planting  and  rearing  trees  from 
the  seed. 

The  next  topic  is  the  treatment  and  care  of  trees.  Are 
there  trees  enough  on  the  streets  ?  Ask  the  children  to 
investigate  the  conditions  prevailing  in  the  locality,  and 
let  them  write  or  tell  how  street  and  roadside  trees, 
especially,  may  be  protected  from  injury.  Have  them 
learn  the  city  or  town  ordinance  with  reference  to  injury 
of  shade  trees  and  the  rules  of  the  tree  warden  of  their 
neighborhood.  The  chief  object  of  these  inquiries  should 
be,  not  to  threaten  or  suggest  punishment  in  case  they 
injure  the  trees,  but  to  develop  their  ideas  of  the  public 
values  of  trees  for  shade  and  beauty  and  make  them 
active  protectors  of  the  trees  in  their  own  town  or  city. 
Let  each  member  of  the  class  examine  one  hundred 
roadside  trees  and  state  how  many  are  horse-gnawed  or 
barked  by  wagons,  how  many  have  tree  guards  around 
them,  and  what  kinds  are  used.  Do  the  tree  guards  add 
beauty  to  the  street  ?  These  studies  may  be  used  to 
interest  the  public  in  the  proper  care  of  shade  trees. 


374 


NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 


Instead  of  inclosing  the  trees  in  guards,  it  has  always  seemed  more 
fitting  the  crime  if  those  who  injure  them*  were  put  into  the  guards 
for  a  while.  Still,  accidents  are  likely  to  happen,  and  cheaper  and 
less  conspicuous  guards  may  be  made  with  strong  wire  netting  fas- 
tened around  the  trunk,  as  shown  in  Fig.  148.  However,  in  my  vari- 
ous travels  I  have  found 

at    least    one    city    where 

public  sentiment  ade- 
quately protects  the  shade 

trees  of  its  beautiful  streets. 

This    city    is     Richmond, 

Indiana,   and   it  may  well 

stand  as  the  ideal  for  less 

favored  cities  in  this  re- 
spect. Its  wide  streets, 

with    their    four    rows    of 

beautiful     trees,     without 

guards    of    any    sort,    and 

none  of  them  injured,  make 

its    residential    sections 

practically    forest      parks, 

shady    and    cool    by    day 

and  a  fairyland  under  the 

electric  lights  at  night. 

Nut  trees  and  their 
planting  and  treat- 
ment should  form  a 
study  well  calculated 
to  appeal  to  the 
children.  Nuts  are  a 
delicious  and  wholesome  food  for  the  fall  and  winter 
months,  and  nutting  parties  are  outings  with  exercise 
and  purpose  in  them.  Are  there  nuts  enough,  and  a 
good  variety,  for  all  the  children  to  have  a  supply  from 


FIG.  147. 
TREE  GUARDS 


FIG.  148. 
WIRE  GUARDS 


ELEMENTARY    FORESTRY 


375 


October  to  May  ?  If  not,  ask  the  class  to  explain  why 
not.  Let  them  ask 
their  parents  about 
the  history  of  nut 
trees  in  the  neigh- 
borhood to  find  out 
whether  they  havein- 
creased  or  decreased 
in  number  during 
their  recollection. 
Let  them  ascertain, 
so  far  as  possible, 
the  causes  for  de- 
crease in  nut  trees, 
if  such  has  occurred, 
and  encourage  them 
to  reason  out  the 
best  ways  by  which 
these  causes  may  be 
counteracted  and 
nut  trees  increased. 
In  the  writer's 
experience  abuse  of 
nut  trees,  and  of 
those  who  own 
them,  is  the  chief 
reason  why  we  do 
not  have  as  many 
as  we  could  wish. 
Is  that  true  in  the  FlG' 


.     ,,        ,  i  •»    -T-1 

neighborhood  ?  The 


THANKS  FOR  BEARING  CHESTNUTS 
(Photograph  by  the  author) 


376 


NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 


accompanying  photographs  tell  the  story.  It  is  certainly 
a  brutal  recompense  when  a  tree  has  borne  its  load  of 
nuts  to  stone  it  or  pound  it  with  iron  sledge  hammers, 
to  throw  ropes  over  it  and  tear  off  its  branches.  So 
it  has  come  to  pass  that  farmers  in  the  neighborhood 
of  towns,  at  least,  cannot  raise  chestnut  timber,  because 
the  trees  are  bruised,  growth  is  stunted,  and  at  the 
wounded  places  decay  develops,  which  soon  renders  the 
whole  tree  worthless.  Thus  nut  trees  must  be  ruled 

out  from  roadside  planting, 
simply  on  account  of  thought- 
less abuse,  and  year  by  year 
fine  bearing  trees  are  cut  down 
on  account  of  the  clubbing  and 
stoning  and  nuisance  that  rages 
around  them  while  the  nuts 
are  ripening.  If  this  senseless 
process  goes  on,  many  districts 
will  be  wholly  reduced  to  deserts 
as  far  as  their  nut  trees  are 
concerned,  as  some  already  have 
been.  Our  only  hope  is  again 
on  the  positive  side.  Set  the 
children  to  planting  nuts.  Can- 
not they  do  what  the  squirrels 
have  done  so  well  ?  It  is  a 

little  thing  to  plant  a  nut  in  a  sheltered  place  by  the 
edge  of  a  flat  stone  along  a  roadside  wall,  but  there  is 
altruism  and  ideality  in  the  act,  and  the  child  who  has 
done  it  will  begin  to  love  and  appreciate  the  trees  as 
never  before. 


FIG.  150.     MARKS  OF  ANCIENT 

ABUSE 
This  chestnut  tree  will  soon  have 

to  be  cut  to  avoid  danger  to 

near-by  houses 


ELEMENTARY    FORESTRY  377 

A  generous  portion  of  the  propagation  bed  may  be 
devoted  to  nut  raising,  and  the  seedlings  may  be  used 
in  lessons  on  grafting  with  the  best  varieties  and,  later, 
be  transplanted  into  favorable  locations.  We  must,  then, 
study  what  the  best  varieties  are.  Nut  culture  is  a  sub- 
ject that  has  been  neglected  in  this  country,  and,  as  a 
consequence,  we  annually  import  about  $4,000,000  worth 
of  nuts  and  then  do  not  have  enough  to  go  around. 
Little  is  known  as  to  best  varieties  of  any  kind  of  native 
nut.  No  two  trees  of  any  given  kind  produce  nuts 
exactly  alike,  in  size,  shape,  flavor,  and  other  qualities. 
Which  is  the  best  chestnut,  hickory  nut,  black  walnut, 
butternut  tree  in  the  neighborhood  ?  A  nut  show  in  the 
school,  similar  to  the  fruit  and  flower  exhibitions  spoken 
of  in  previous  chapters,  will  prove  an  instructive  bit  of 
nature  study  and  may  serve  to  awaken  interest  in  the 
possibilities  of  their  rational  culture.1 

1  Niit  Cultitre  in  the  United  States,  Department  of  Agriculture,  Wash- 
ington, 1896,  should  be  referred  to  in  this  connection.  See  also  "The 
Forest  Nursery :  Collection  of  Tree  Seeds  and  Propagation  of  Seedlings," 
by  George  B.  Sudworth,  Biilletin  No.  29,  United  States  Department  of 
Agriculture,  Washington,  1900. 


378 


CHAPTER    XXIII 

ELEMENTARY   FORESTRY    (Continued} 

INFLUENCES  OF  FORESTS  ON  SOIL  FORMATION,  SURFACE 
WATERS,  AND  ON  CLIMATE.;    FOREST  FIRES 

ASK  the  class  to  observe  freshly  cut  banks,  railroad 
cuts,  quarries,  excavations,  washouts,  etc.,  in  forest  land 
to  learn  two  things,  not  sufficiently  appreciated  in  this 
country:  (i)  formation  of  humus  or  leaf  mould;  (2)  dis- 
tribution of  roots  below  the  surface.  With  a  sharp  tool, 
when  the  ground  is  wet,  cut  out  a  square  foot  of  the 
"forest  floor,"  —leaves,  dead  sticks,  leaf  mould,  — down 
to  solid  earth ;  mount  in  a  box  with  at  least  one  side 
glass  for  study  and  for  experiments  to  be  described  below. 
Beneath  this  covering  the  soil  is  black  for  some  distance, 
—  "  surface  soil  "  or  "  loam."  Take  a  pound  or  so  of  this 
also  for  study  and  experiment,  and,  to  compare  with  it, 
secure  a  similar  specimen  of  loam  from  a  field  long  under 
cultivation.  Compare  the  two  as  to  color,  appearance, 
and  consistency.  Which  seems  to  be  "richest  "  ?  Which 
would  be  best  to  plant  seeds  in  ? 

What  makes  the  loam  black  and  rich  ?  Suppose  we 
take  an  equal  amount,  say  100  grams  (one  of  the  chil- 
dren can  get  it  weighed  at  the  nearest  drug  store,  if  there 
are  no  scales  in  the  school),  of  leaf  mould,  of  loam  from 
the  forest  and  of  soil  from  the  field.  We  know  that 

379 


380 


NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 


wood,  leaves,  and  all  kinds  of  vegetable  matters  burn 
up  readily;  and  we  know  that  coal  is  vegetable  matter 
that  has  been  buried  in  the  earth.  We  must  be  sure 

that  the  samples 
are  dry  before 
we  weigh  them  ; 
then  we  will 
see  how  much 
of  them  we  can 
burn  away.  To 
do  this  we  will 
place  the  sample 
on  a  clean  piece 
of  tin  or  sheet 
iron  and  heat  it 
red  hot  over  a 
gas  stove  or  over 
a  bed  of  coals  in 
the  furnace,  and, 
after  we  are  sure 
no  more  can  be 
burned  away, 
we  will  weigh 
again.  We  saw 
that  the  leaf 
mould  burned 
brightly  and  left 
a  light  mass  of  ashes  on  the  tin.  These  weighed  22  grams, 
which  means  that  leaf  mould  is  78  per  cent  vegetable 
matter.  The  black  loam  from  the  woods  left  more  earth 
and  ashes  behind.  This  remainder  weighed  89  grams, 


FIG.  152.    How  A  CHESTNUT  TREE  HOLDS  SOIL 

TOGETHER 


ELEMENTARY    FORESTRY 


381 


FIG.  153.     RELATION  OF  HUMUS  TO 

GROWTH  OF  CORN 
i,  clay  subsoil;  2,  same  with  fertilizer; 

3,  same,  with  humus. 
(Photograph  by  C.  L.  Goodrich) 


which  proves  that  forest  loam  is  n  per  cent  vegetable 
matter.  The  soil  from  the  barren  field  did  not  burn  and, 
on  weighing,  we  found 
99  grams,  giving  only  i 
per  cent  organic  matter. 
Put  the  burned  samples 
away  in  dry  bottles, 
of  clear  glass  and  simi- 
lar size  and  shape,  for 
the  school  collection. 
These  are  valuable  speci- 
mens that  tell  a  long 
story.  Compare  again 
as  to  color  and  composi- 
tion, so  far  as  this  can  be 
done  by  the  unaided  eye  and  by  feeling  with  the  fingers. 
Are  the  samples  not  more  alike  than  before  they  were 
burned  ? 

Have  a  few  of  the  class  fill  a  series  of  flowerpots  or 
boxes  with  different  kinds  of  soil,  as  shown  in  Fig.  153, 
and  in  them  plant  corn  or  other  seeds.  This  work  may 
be  varied  in  regard  to  soils  and  seeds  planted.  The  plants 
should  stand  together  in  one  of  the  schoolroom  windows, 
where  they  may  receive  equal  light  and  care.  Observe 
and  possibly  measure  the  growth  from  time  to  time. 

We  have  thus  found  that  vegetable  matter  is  the  chief 
constituent  that  makes  the  soil  black  and  rich;  and  we 
know  that  this  comes  from  falling  leaves  and  twigs  and 
from  decaying  roots  of  the  forest.  How  long  does  it  take 
the  trees  to  make  rich  loam  ?  In  the  main,  this  is  a  ques- 
tion that  the  children  will  not  find  time  to  answer.  They 


382 


NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 


may  find  freshly  cut  stumps  near  some  of  the  sections  of 
the  soil  that  they  have  been  studying,  and,  by  counting  the 
annual  rings,  they  may  arrive  at  some  idea  as  to  how  long 
the  forest  has  been  at  its  work.  Their  fathers  may  also 
tell  them  something  about  the  woods  in  the  neighborhood. 
The  following  answer  (from  Green,  p.  36)  is  the  most 


FIG.  154.     APPARATUS  FOR  TESTING  RETENTION  OF  WATER  BY 

DIFFERENT  SOILS 

The  figure  represents  100  grams  each  of  gravel,  sand,  barren  soil,  loam,  and  leaf 
mould,  and  25  grams  of  leaves 

definite  that  I  have  been  able  to  find.  He  says  :  "  It  has 
been  estimated  that  after  a  sandy  soil  in  New  England  is 
so  exhausted  that  it  will  produce  nothing  but  red  mosses 
it  may  be  renewed  to  its  pristine  vigor  and  productive- 
ness by  the  growth  of  trees  on  it  for  thirty  years." 

Let  us  next  see  what  relations  soils  of  different  kinds 
bear  to  the  water  that  falls  upon  them.     These  questions 


ELEMENTARY    FORESTRY  383 

are  of  interest  in  connection  with  all  the  foregoing  work  in 
gardening  and  the  cultivation  of  plants,  for  water,  in  con- 
nection with  rich  soil,  is  the  great  essential  to  plant  growth. 

Let  us  take  again  100  grams  of  gravel,  sand,  soil  from 
the  barren  field,  rich  loam  from  the  woods,  leaf  mould,  and 
25  grams  of  dry  pulverized  leaves.  Knock  the  bottoms 
out  of  six  tall,  slender  bottles  (the  common  olive-oil  bottles 
are  well  adapted  for  this  experiment,  or  large  glass  tubes 
may  be  used).  Dry  before  weighing  and  put  the  samples 
each  into  its  bottle,  inverted,  with  the  neck  stoppered  with 
a  notched  cork.  Shake  the  different  materials  so  that 
they  lie  evenly  and  compactly,  and  then  from  a  measuring 
glass  pour  in  water  slowly,  so  that  the  whole  mass  is  wet, 
and  see  how  much  water  each  will  absorb  before  the  water 
begins  to  run  out  at  the  bottom.  Or  we  may  pour  into 
each  a  known  amount,  say  100  cubic  centimeters,  and  then 
measure  all  that  runs  through.  The  quantity  absorbed  is 
known  as  capillary  water  or  film  moisture.  It  is  this  that 
constitutes  the  water  supply  for  the  roots  of  plants  in  the 
soil.  Fertility,  the  power  of  the  soil  to  support  plants, 
thus  depends  largely  upon  its  power  to  retain  water. 

In  the  experiment  represented  in  Fig.  154  the  results 
were  as  follows  : 

GRAMS  ABSORBED 

Gravel  100                                       8.5  grams 

Sand  100  36         " 

Barren  Soil  100  40         " 

Rich  Loam  100  69          " 

Leaf  Mould  100  210          " 

Leaves  25  120          " 

To  make  the  result  still  clearer  we  may  take  a  piece 
of  punk,  or  partially  decayed  wood,  dry  thoroughly  and 


384  NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 

cut  down  until  it  weighs  100  grams;  soak  in  water  and 
weigh  again.  We  thus  find  that  the  vegetable  matter  in 
the  soil  is  one  of  the  chief  elements  that  enables  it  to  soak 
up  water. 

From  the  data  gained  in  the  above  experiments 
encourage  the  children  to  estimate  the  influence  of  the 
forest  floor  on  soaking  up  and  retaining  the  water  that 
falls  in  the  form  of  rain  or  snow  upon  it. 

Next,  ask  the  class  to  describe  the  springs  and  streams 
in  the  neighborhood.  This  will  form  a  valuable  coordina- 
tion with  their  geography  lessons,  and  they  should  draw 
maps  showing  the  woods,  springs,  and  streams.  Ask  them 
especially  to  note  whether  the  springs  are  muddy.  Are 
the  streams  of  the  neighborhood  muddy?  Are  they 
muddy  all  the  time  or  only  after  heavy  rains  ? 

With  a  series  of  tumblers  of  water,  into  which  a  little 
gravel,  sand,  loam,  and  leaf  mould  have  been  stirred,  study 
the  way  different  materials  settle  to  the  bottom.  How 
does  this  illustrate  the  way  we  find  such  materials  depos- 
ited in  sand  banks  along  a  stream  ?  Some  part  of  the 
district  may  afford  a  good  example.  Let  the  children, 
from  time  to  time,  bring  in  bottles  of  water  skimmed 
from  the  surface  of  the  stream  and  have  them  study  what 
the  stream  is  doing, — what  it  is  carrying  away.  Wood 
and  leaves,  stubble  and  cornstalks,  with  now  and  then  an 
acorn  or  a  nut  —  everything  that  floats  —  is  going  down 
stream.  Examine  the  banks  of  the  stream,  where  often 
tons  of  this  rich  material  have  been  lodged  during  a 
freshet.  Lead  the  class  to  reason  from  these  observa- 
tions and  experiments  that  the  best  part  of  the  soil  is 
being  washed  away. 


ELEMENTARY    FORESTRY 


385 


In  connection  with  geography  lessons  trace  the  journey 
of  the  soil  that  is  being  carried  from  the  district,  until  it 
reaches  the  ocean.  Has  the  teacher  or  have  members  of 
the  class  visited  any  of  the  cities  along  the  route  and 


FIG.  155.    TENEMENT  HOUSES  MADE  BEAUTIFUL 
(Photograph  by  Louis  P.  Nash,  Holyoke,  Mass.) 

observed  the  working  of  dredges  in  deepening  the  chan- 
nels and  cleaning  the  mud  out  of  the  harbors  ?  Many 
millions  of  dollars  are  expended  annually  in  river  and 
harbor  improvements,  much  of  which  might  be  saved  by 
keeping  the  soil  at  home. 

Now  follow  this  material  back  into  the  fields  and  hills, 
where  the  forest  has  been  recently  cleared  away,  and 
where  the  ground  is  bare  and  has  been  washing  badly. 
Show  how,  after  the  lighter  constituents  of  the  soil  have 
been  washed  away,  the  sand  and  gravel  are  taken  up  and 
carried  over  the  fertile  ground  below.  Compare  the  way 


386  NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 

the  soil  washes  in  the  woods,  in  grass  land,  and  where  the 
ground  is  bare. 

Next  let  us  study  how  we  can  keep  the  soil  at  home 
and  make  the  water  clear  as  crystal.  Pour  a  tumbler  of 
muddy  water  into  a  filter  and  catch  the  water  in  a  clean 
glass  as  it  comes  through.  In  one  of  the  bottles  with  the 
bottom  out  make  a  filter  of  leaf  mould,  pack  it  well  and 
wash  the  dust  out  of  it,  if  necessary,  and  then  see  how 
clear  muddy  water  may  be  made  by  passing  through  it. 
Can  we  make  it  as  clear  as  the  water  from  the  spring  or 
well  ?  Why  not  ?  How  deep  is  the  filter  through  which 
the  spring  water  passes  ?  Do  we  need  a  very  thick  filter, 
if  it  is  fine  enough  ? 

Find  a  pond  in  the  neighborhood  with  an  inlet  and  outlet ; 
a  temporary  one  will  serve  the  purpose  if  no  permanent 
ponds  are  available.  Study  the  water  that  flows  in  and 
compare  it  with  that  which  flows  out.  Refer  back  to  the 
experiments  of  settling  muddy  water  in  the  tumblers,  and 
call  attention  to  the  fact  that  the  lighter  particles  remain 
floating  a  long  time  and  may  even  leave  the  pond  by 
the  outlet.  There  are  other  ways  of  keeping  the  water 
pure,  which  will  be  taken  up  when  we  study  aquaria,  but 
these  two,  filtering  and  settling,  are  the  chief  methods 
with  which  every  plan  for  purification  of  surface  waters 
must  begin. 

The  water  supply  to  a  district  is  another  topic  closely 
related  to  the  foregoing.  Does  the  water  run  off  in 
torrents  after  a  rain  and  when  the  snows  melt  in  the 
spring  ?  Do  the  springs  and  wells  go  dry  and  the  streams 
fail  in  a  long  period  of  drought  ?  Are  the  springs  and 
streams  generally  lower  than  they  used  to  be  ?  If  this 


ELEMENTARY    FORESTRY  387 

is  so,  why  is  it  ?  What  do  the  children  know  about 
the  way  the  snow  melts  in  the  spring  ?  Where  does 
it  melt  first  ?  Where  can  they  find  the  last  snow  bank 
in  the  spring  ?  Bring  out  the  fact  that  the  snow  melts 
slowly  in  the  woods,  allowing  the  water  to  soak  into  the 
ground. 

We  have  already  seen  that  the  leaf  mould,  with  its  mass 
of  tangled  roots,  and  the  loam  of  the  forest  floor  absorb 
water  like  a  huge  sponge  and  give  it  up  slowly  to  the 
springs  below  and  to  the  leaves  of  the  trees  above.  It 
has  been  found  that  only  from  one-half  to  one-quarter  as 
much  water  evaporates  from  forest  land  as  from  land 
under  cultivation,  and  to  gain  a  hint  as  to  one  of  the 
factors  that  cause  this  we  may  make  some  further  experi- 
ments upon  soil  of  different  kinds  in  the  tumblers. 

Let  the  class  arrange  and  label  eight  tumblers  of  the 
same  size  and  shape  and,  having  the  materials  dry,  fill  to 
within  one-half  inch  of  top  with  the  following  materials  : 
gravel,  No.  I  ;  sand,  No.  2  ;  barren  soil,  No.  3  ;  rich  loam, 
Nos.  4  and  5  ;  about  one  inch  each  of  gravel,  sand,  and 
loam  in  order,  the  loam  on  top,  No.  6  ;  two  inches  of  rich 
loam  with  one  inch  of  finely  pulverized  leaf  mould  on  top, 
No.  7  ;  water,  No.  8.  Weigh  each  and,  unless  i!  is 
desired  to  study  fractions,  bring  them  all  up  to  even 
grams  to  start  with  by  adding  a  little  of  the  appropriate 
dry  material.  Then  pour  into  each,  except  the  last,  an 
equal  amount  of  water,  say  100  cubic  centimeters.  Place 
the  tumblers  somewhere  in  the  schoolroom  where  the  sun 
will  not  shine  on  them  and  every  day  at  the  same  time 
weigh  them  all  carefully  to  see  how  much  water  has 
evaporated  from  each.  Set  down  the  weighings  on  the 


388 


NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 


blackboard  in  the  following  form.     If  desired,  the  children 
may  copy  them  into  their  notebooks. 


WEIGHT 


No. 

FIRST 
DAY 

SECOND 
DAY 

THIRD 
DAY 

FOURTH 
DAY 

FIFTH 
DAY 

TENTH 
DAY 

TWENTI- 
ETH DAY, 

ETC. 

i,  Gravel 

2,  Sand 

3,  Soil 

4,  Loam 

5,  Loam 

6,  G.S.L. 

7,  L.Lf.-m. 

8,  Water 

With  No.  5,  keep  the  top,  to  a  depth  of  about  half  an 
inch,  loose  and  fine  by  stirring.1 

The  influences  of  trees  on  weather  and  climate  are  topics 

1  These  observations  may  be  repeated  in  various  ways  that  will  readily 
suggest  themselves  to  the  teacher.  The  two  main  facts  that  the  children 
should  get,  are,  first,  that  loam  and  leaf  mould  protect  the  water  in  the 
soil  from  drying  up;  and,  second,  that  a  covering  of  fine  dry  dust  serves 
this  purpose  most  effectually.  They  should  thus  learn,  as  Professor  Bailey 
puts  it,  how  to  water  their  gardens  with  a  rake  instead  of  with  a  watering 
pot.*  It  would  also  be  well,  in  clayey  districts,  to  have  a  third  tumbler  of 
loam  and  stir  it  thoroughly,  after  adding  the  water,  to  show  the  effect  of 
working  the  soil  while  wet ;  it  will  then  dry  in  hard  lumps. 

In  this  connection,  too,  it  is  well  to  repeat  the  common  experiment  of 
wetting  two  spots  on  the  blackboard  and  fanning  one  to  show  how  much 
more  rapidly  it  dries.  The  trees  thus  prevent  the  winds  from  drying  out 
the  water  in  the  soil. 

Shade  is  another  important  influence  that  trees  exert.  If  possible,  to 
the  above  eight  add  three  tumblers  filled  respectively  with  gravel,  sand,  and 
loam  and  set  in  the  sunniest  window  of  the  schoolroom.  This  will  demon- 
strate, aside  from  the  influence  of  forests,  the  value  of  planting  gardens  so 
that  the  ground  may  be  well  shaded  in  districts  where  drought  is  common. 


ELEMENTARY    FORESTRY 


389 


of  great  interest,  but  the  problems  are  so  large  that  the 
children  cannot  do  much  practical  work  with  them.  Cool 
shade,  however,  is  appreciated  by  all  in  hot  weather,  and 

two  thermometers,       .. ^ 

one  hung  in  the  shade 
of  a  tree,  the  other  in 
the  open  sunshine, 
will  tell  an  interest- 
ing story.  Protect 
two  thermometers 
with  a  bit  of  paper 
and  bury  the  bulbs  an 
inch  in  the  ground, 
one  in  the  sun,  the 
other  in  the  shade. 
If  we  do  this  about 
three  o'clock  on  a 
warm  day  in  June, 
it  will  show  how  hot 
the  unprotected  soil 
becomes.  Let  as 
many  of  the  children 
as  have  thermome- 
ters in  their  homes 
take  a  careful  read- 
ing at  exactly  12.30 

P.M.,      On      SOme     hot  (Photograph  by  Louis  P.  Nash) 

sunny  day,  compare 

the  temperatures,  and  try  to  explain  any  differences  that 
may  have  been  observed.  This  should  be  done  on  a  clear, 
hot  day. 


FIG.  156.    A  FACTORY  COVERED  WITH 
WOODBINE 


390  NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 

If  the  school  possesses  a  hygrometer,  an  instrument 
for  measuring  moisture  in  the  air,  it  will  be  interesting 
to  test  the  relative  humidity  in  woods  or  well-planted 
districts  and  in  the  hottest  and  driest  place  available,  the 
business  portion  of  a  city,  for  example.  Without  instru- 
ments this  difference  is  often  appreciated  in  the  moist, 
"  soft  "  air  of  the  forest. 

It  has  been  estimated  that  forest  fires  cause  a  loss  of 
not  less  than  $30,000,000  annually  in  this  country.  Ask 
the  class  to  collect  all  the  data  possible  as  to  such  fires  in 
the  neighborhood.  We  have  seen  that  not  only  may  the 
trees  be  destroyed,  but  the  leaf  mould  and  even  the  loam, 
representing  the  work  of  the  trees  in  enriching  the  soil 
for  many  years,  may  be  burned  away.  If  practicable, 
make  an  excursion  to  some  tract  that  has  been  recently 
burned  over  and  study  on  the  ground  the  damage  to 
timber  and  soil  that  has  resulted.  Inquire  particularly 
into  the  causes  of  such  fires  in  the  neighborhood  and 
consider  the  means  of  prevention  ;  and,  finally,  obtain  a 
copy  of  the  law  against  setting  forest  fires  in  your  state 
and  discuss  its  provisions  with  the  class. 

Forest  Resources, — As  a  national  industry,  forestry  stands 
second  only  to  agriculture  in  number  of  people  and 
amount  of  capital  employed  and  in  value  of  product.  In 
connection  with  language  lessons  develop  all  that  the  chil- 
dren know  about  the  uses  of  wood  and  the  adaptation  of 
different  kinds  to  various  purposes.  A  part  of  the  work 
in  manual  training  may  well  be  devoted  to  making  a  col- 
lection of  native  woods  to  show  cross,  slab,  and  quarter- 
cut  sections,  in  natural  state  and  finished  in  various  ways. 
Study  in  this  connection  the  market  price  of  different 


ELEMENTARY    FORESTRY  391 

woods.  What  determines  price  ?  According  to  the  price 
of  lumber,  what  is  the  value  of  different  trees  in  the 
neighborhood  ?  How  long  has  it  taken  for  them  to  grow  ? 
What  is  the  difference  in  price  between  clear  lumber  and 
knotty  lumber  ?  How  may  we  grow  clear  lumber  ? 

It  has  been  estimated  that  we  have  500,000,000  acres 
in  growing  forest,  and  that  35  cubic  feet  of  wood  are 
annually  produced  per  acre.  Annual  consumption  of 
wood,  according  to  Professor  Fernow,  is  probably  double 
the  amount  produced.  Inferences  from  these  facts  are 
obvious. 

Interesting  geography  lessons  may  be  made  by  asking 
the  children  to  draw  in  their  maps  the  ranges,  as  given  in 
Sudworth's  Check  List,  of  the  trees  included  in  their 
grade  plan. 

For  additional  information  on  the  topics  of  this  chapter, 
consult  : 

GEORGE  B.  SUDWORTH.  "  Check  List  of  the  Forest  Trees  of  the  United 
States,"  Bulletin  No.  17.  This  contains  the  scientific  and  common  names 
of  495  species  and  gives  the  geographical  range  of  each.  Washington, 
1898. 

E.  B.  FERNOW.  "  Suggestions  to  Lumbermen  of  the  United  States  in 
Behalf  of  a  more  Rational  Forest  Management,"  Circular  ATo.  10. 

E.  B.  FERNOW.  "  Facts  and  Figures  regarding  our  Forest  Resources 
briefly  stated,"  Circular  No.  //. 

E.  B.  FERNOW.  "  Forest- Fire  Legislation  in  the  United  States,"  Circular 
No.  13. 

E.  B.  FERNOW.  "  Forestry  for  Farmers."  Washington,  1805.  (Reprint 
from  Yearbook,  1894.) 

N.  H.  EGLESTON.  "  Arbor  Day :  Its  History  and  Observance."  Wash- 
ington, 1896. 

For  all  the  above,  address  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture, 
Washington,  D.C. 


392 


CHAPTER    XXIV 

AQUARIA 

THEIR  CONSTRUCTION  AND  MANAGEMENT 

No  one  piece  of  nature-study  apparatus  is  capable  of 
serving  so  many  and  so  various  uses  as  an  aquarium.  It 
may  be  used  wet  or  dry  ;  filled  with  water  it  becomes  the 
means  of  practical  acquaintance  with  all  kinds  of  aquatic 
life,  both  plant  and  animal  ;  managed  as  a  vivarium,  or 
terrarium,  it  makes  a  fine  insect-breeding  case,  a  fernery, 
a  place  for  a  collection  of  living  mosses,  the  home  of  frogs, 
tree  frogs,  turtles,  salamanders,  snakes,  slugs,  and  land 
snails.  With  one  end  arranged  for  water  and  the  other 
for  land,  and  filled  with  mosses  and  ferns,  pitcher  plants, 
and  sundews,  it  may  be  at  once  a  paradise  for  all  kinds  of 
things,  both  aquatic  and  terrestrial.  Filled  with  earth,  it 
may  be  used  to  germinate  seeds  in.  By  planting  them 
against  the  glass  and  darkening  with  a  black  cloth  we  may 
study  "root  and  all"  in  its  natural  environment,  observe 
the  root  systems  of  various  plants,  and  make  all  sorts  of 
interesting  experiments.  If  we  wish,  we  may  plant  a  hill 
of  potatoes  ;  and  we  must  certainly  plant  against  the  glass 
all  sorts  of  seeds  of  our  forest,  fruit,  and  nut  trees. 

Every  schoolroom  should  have  at  least  two  good-sized 
aquaria  for  general  purposes,  and  then  if  each  child  could 
have  a  little  one,  on  his  desk  or  in  a  window,  for  his  own 
use,  there  would  be  none  too  many.  We  now  furnish  books 
in  abundance,  but  here  is  a  book  of  fascinating  continued 

393 


394  NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 

stories  which  a  child  could  read,  one  after  the  other,  in  the 
reality  of  nature  itself  for  the  entire  eight  or  nine  years  of 
his  primary  and  grammar-school  life. 

Aquaria  are  ordinarily  too  expensive  (or  so  considered) 
to  be  used  in  the  way  suggested.  The  usual  directions 
for  making  them,  with  wooden  frames,  result  in  aquaria 
that  are  always  cracking  and  leaking  and  hence  are  unsat- 
isfactory and  generally  discouraging.  Our  first  topic  is, 
thus,  the  best  way  to  make  an  aquarium. 

Instead  of  wood  for  the  frame,  which  will  never  stop 
warping,  swelling,  and  shrinking,  and  is  wholly  discarded 
by  all  makers  of  aquaria,  we  will  use  angle  tin,  and  the 
only  other  materials  needed  are  glass,  of  the  desired  size, 
aquarium  cement,  and  solder  with  soldering  fluid  or  resin. 
A  few  tools  will  be  required,  most  or  all  of  which  may  be 
borrowed  for  the  occasion,  —  a  wheel  glass  cutter,  a  pair 
of  tinner's  snips,  a  pair  of  pinchers,  a  soldering  iron,  and, 
last  and  most  important  of  all,  a  carpenter's  square.  A 
small  anvil  or  block  of  iron  with  square  corners  and  a 
light  hammer  are  convenient  to  square  up  the  corners 
nicely,  but  this  may  be  done  with  the  pinchers.  The 
angle  tin,  solder,  and  soldering  fluid  1  we  will  get  at  the 
tinner's.  For  the  glass,  we  will  ask  the  children  to  bring 
all  the  broken  window  panes  and  spoiled  photographic 
negatives  that  they  can  find. 

The  temptation  of  beginners  is  to  make  the  aquarium 
too  large.  It  is  then  hard  to  fill,  hard  to  keep  clean,  hard 
to  move,  and  is  apt  to  be  an  elephant  in  the  way.  A  good 
size  for  general  purposes  is  13  inches  deep,  15  inches  long, 

1  Soldering  fluid  is  made  by  dissolving  pieces  of  zinc  in  hydrochloric 
acid  to  saturation. 


AQUARIA 


395 


and  8  inches  wide.  Where  a  larger  aquarium  is  desired, 
which  may  be  partitioned  off  with  panes  of  glass  to  keep 
a  variety  of  specimens,  a  good  size  is  12  (or  15)  inches 
deep,  24  inches  long,  and  8  (or  9)  inches  wide.  As  it  is 
often  desirable  to  use  this  as  a  terrarium  for  turtles,  frogs, 


FIG.  158.     MAKING  AN  AQUARIUM 

i,  angle  tin ;  2,  glass  ;  3,  soldering  outfit ;  4,  frame  in  process  of  construction ; 
5,  completed  frames. 

toads,  or  plants,  when  floor  space  is  a  desideratum,  it 
may  be  well  to  make  at  least  one  12  inches  wide.  For 
individual  pupils,  or  even  for  school  use,  it  is  surprising 
how  many  interesting  studies  may  be  carried  on  with 
smaller  aquaria,  made  from  waste  negatives  8  x  10,  7  X  9, 
or  even  5x7,  having  them  4  or  5  inches  wide.  In  fact, 


396 


NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 


these  little  aquaria  are  so  convenient  that  they  will  be 
used  much  oftener  than  the  larger  ones  for  definite 
experiments,  like  germination  of  seeds,  rearing  insects, 
feeding  tests  with  toads,  frogs,  and  salamanders,  purifica- 
tion of  water  by  tadpoles,  fresh-water  clams,  mosquito 


FIG.  159.    FORMS  AND  SIZES  OF  AQUARIA 

/,  5  x  7  x  4,  in  which  meal  worms  are  being  reared;  2,  8  x  10  x  4 ;  j,  same,  with 
flytrap  attachment;  4,  12  x  24  x  12  ;  j,  8  x  10  x  4,  made  flat  and  set  up  for 
toads'  eggs. 

larvae,  etc.     They  are  useful  at   every  season  and  easily 
changed  from  one  kind  of  work  to  another. 

Suppose  we  have  decided  on  10  X  8  x  5,  the  size 
shown  in  course  of  construction  in  Fig.  158,  and  have  our 
glass  cut  square  to  these  dimensions.  We  go  to  a  tin- 
ner's and  ask  him  for  two  strips  of  f-inch,  "three-cross" 
angle  tin  the  length  of  the  sheet,  which  is  28  inches, 
and  four  pieces  10^  inches  long.  These  should  be  made 


AQUARIA.  397 

of  "  three-cross "  tin  by  cutting  strips  |  inch  wide  and 
folding  to  a  right  angle  along  the  center.  We  must  allow 
f  inch  for  thickness  of  cement  and  interference  of  the 

o 

glass  at  the  upright  corners  ;  so  that  we  will  now  cut  the 
long  pieces  halfway  in  two  with  the  snips,  i.e.,  in  as  far 
as  the  angle,  at  exactly  8|,  I3|,  22!,  and  2/|  inches,  cut- 
ting off  the  end  at  the  last  mark.  We  thus  have  the 
top  and  bottom  of  our  frame  each  in  one  piece.  We  next 
bend  them  to  a  rectangular  figure,  squaring  the  corners 
neatly,  and,  holding  the  open  corner  inside  the  square, 
solder  this  joint.  We  now  have  the  top  and  bottom  of 
our  frame.  Taking  the  four  vertical  corner  pieces,  we 
solder  them  over  the  corners,  holding  each  carefully  in 
the  square  while  we  solder,  and  the  frame  is  done.  With 
tools  and  materials  at  hand,  it  should  take  about  ten 
minutes  to  make  the  small  frame.  If  we  do  not  wish  to 
have  the  children  learn  to  solder,1  or  cannot  get  the  tools, 
the  tinner  will  do  this  in  a  few  minutes. 

If  we  wish  a  cover  to  keep  insects,  frogs,  toads,  and 
even  fishes  from  jumping  out,  we  solder  two  small  brass 
hinges  to  the  frame.  We  may  use  for  the  cover  per- 
forated zinc  or  tin,  folded  over  one-quarter  of  an  inch  all 
around  to  strengthen  the  edges,  or  wire  screen  in  a 
wooden  frame.  The  perforated  metal  makes  a  neat  cover, 
with  hinges  soldered  to  one  edge  and  a  handle  ring  to  the 
other.  To  hold  it  shut  it  is  well  to  solder  a  little  ring  to 

1  Soldering  is  a  good  exercise  in  patience  ;  the  secret  of  getting  a  smooth 
joint  is  to  heat  the  iron  properly  and  to  hold  it  still  long  enough  and 
to  move  it  slowly  enough  to  melt  the  solder  thoroughly.  The  iron  will  then 
leave  the  surface  perfectly  smooth,  without  wrinkles  or  points  that  will  be 
likely  to  break  the  glass. 


398  NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 

snap  over  the  edge  of  the  frame,  as  shown  in  Fig.  160.  If 
a  handle  is  desired,  solder  wire  eyes  into  the  middle  of 
each  end  of  the  frame.  The  bale  should  be  made  of  stiff 
galvanized  wire,  bent  at  right  angles,  with  the  drop  just 

long  enough  to  let  it  fall 
neatly  along  one  corner 
of  the  frame. 

FIG.  160.     COVER  OF  AQUARIUM  JQ    set    the   glass    }ay 

s.r.,  snap  ring;  h.r.,  handle  ring.  aquarium  CCment  evenly 

in  the  bottom  of  the  frame  and  press  the  bottom  glass 
into  place  ;  lay  the  sides  in  the  same  manner,  and  finally  the 
ends.  Then,  very  carefully,  for  this  is  the  point  where 
some  glass  is  likely  to  break,  spring  in  some  limber  green 
twigs  to  press  the  glass  gently  against  the  frame  and  hold 
it  in  place  while  the  cement  hardens.  Cut  off  all  super- 
fluous cement  and  then  smooth  neatly  along  the  angles 
and  seams,  inside  and  out,  and  set  away  to  dry.  After  a 
week  it  is  ready  to  fill  with  water. 

Larger  sizes  may  be  made,  and  at  least  the  bottom  of 
the  largest  size  should  be  made,  of  double-thick  glass.  As 
in  any  case  the  glass  is  likely  to  be  warped  and  bent, 
we  should  select  plane  pieces  if  possible,  but  if  curved  a 
little,  the  convex  surface  should  be  placed  inside.  For 
the  larger  sizes  we  naturally  use  wider  angle  tin.  The 
table  below  represents  my  own  experience  in  this  matter. 
Length,  depth,  and  width  are  given  in  order. 

For  aquaria    5X    7x4     to    8  X  10  X    5     use  f-inch  angle  tin  for  frame. 

"  "          IO  X   12  X  6  "      \      "  "          "       "          " 

"         "       15  x  12  x  8     to  18  x  13  x    9      "    |    "        "       "     "       " 

/  use  either  i-inch  angle  tin  for 

"          "        20  X  12  x  9     to  24  x  13  x  12  |      frame  or  i  inch  around  bot- 

'      torn  and  f-inch  for  the  rest. 


AQUARIA 


399 


For  larger  sizes  it  is  safe  to  say  that  angle  iron  or 
aluminium  bronze,  either  cast  in  a  single  piece  or  riveted 
at  the  corners,  would  be  preferable. 

The  corners  of  all  sizes  larger  than  8x10x5,  around 
the  bottom  and  up  the  vertical  angles,  should  be  laid  as 
represented  in  cross-section  in  Fig.  161,  with  a  prism  of 
cement  in  the  angle,  covered  by  a  narrow  strip  of  glass. 
This  greatly  strengthens  the  joint  and  protects  the  water 
from  the  cement.1 

A  good  aquarium  cement,  for  either  fresh  or  salt  water, 
is  made  by  mixing  dry  ten  parts  each,  by  measure,  of  fine, 
dry,  white  sand,  plaster  of  Paris,  and  litharge,  and  one  part 
powdered  resin.  Mix  as  required,  to  a  stiff  putty  with 
boiled  linseed  oil.  (This  must  be  warranted  free  from 
any  trace  of  adulteration  with  fish  oil,  and  it  is  commonly 
necessary  to  buy  raw  oil  of  a  practical  painter,  who  should 
know  that  it  is  pure,  and  boil  it  for 
a  few  minutes,  to  drive  off  the  water 
in  the  raw  oil.)  The  simplest  and 
best  aquarium  cement,  the  formula 
of  which  has  been  given  me  recently 
by  the  United  States  Fish  Commis- 
sion, is  made  as  follows  :  Stir  together 
dry,  by  weight,  eight  parts  putty  (dry 
whiting),  one  part  red  lead,  and  one 
part  litharge.  Mix,  as  wanted  for  use, 
with  pure  raw  linseed  oil,  to  consistency  of  stiff  putty. 

1  Although  not  necessary,  I  generally  put  one  or  two  coats  of  copal,  or 
spar  varnish,  around  the  angles  on  the  inside.  No  aquarium  has  leaked 
when  this  has  been  done ;  and  if  a  leak  occurs,  it  is  necessary  only  to  dry 
very  thoroughly  and  varnish  on  the  inside  around  the  angles. 


FIG.  161.    SECTION  OF 
CORNER  OF  AQUARIUM 


4OO 


NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 


How  to  set  up  or  fill  the  aquarium  for  general  purposes 
is  the  next  topic.  First  put  in  about  two  inches  of  sand, 
washed  until  a  stream  of  water  runs  off  clear;  then, 
with  the  sand  only  moist,  set  the  plants  about  the  corners, 
making  furrows  in  the  sand  in  different  directions  and 
laying  the  roots  in  them  ;  finally,  arrange  pebbles,  shells, 
and  larger  stones  about  the  bottom  where  they  will 
keep  the  plants  in  place.  Next  pour  in  the  water  up  to 

within  an  inch 
of  the  top,  hold- 
ing the  hand  or 
a  piece  of  thin 
board  so  as  to 
break  the  force 
of  the  stream, 
and  avoid  wash- 
ing the  plants 
loose.  Finally, 
put  in  a  fresh- 
water clam  or 
two,some  snails, 
a  few  tadpoles 
(if  the  fishes 

will  allow  of  it),  to  keep  the  water  clean,  and,  after  a  day 
or  two,  such  fishes  —  not  more  than  two  or  three  —  as  it 
is  desired  to  study.  Overcrowding  is  the  common  temp- 
tation to  be  resisted.  Allow  one  gallon  of  water  to  each 
fish  three  inches  long,  and  where  enough  water  plants  are 
present  to  oxygenate  the  aquarium,  the  fishes  will  show  by 
their  actions,  quiet  movements,  and  breathing  that  they  are 
comfortable.  If  they  come  to  the  surface  and  gasp  for  air, 


FIG.  162.    A  FROG  WITH  Six  LEGS 
A  curiosity  for  the  aquarium 


AQUARIA  401 

we  may  know  that  the  water  is  not  properly  oxygenated, 
and  we  must  take  out  some  of  the  animal  life  or  put  in  more 
plants,  or  do  both.  Children  will  be  much  more  inter- 
ested in  the  plants  and  animals  that  they  have  collected  for 
their  aquaria  themselves  ;  and  for  other  reasons  we  should 
use  chiefly  the  native  life  of  our  ponds  and  streams. 

A  large  aquarium  should  be  permanently  located  before 
it  is  filled.  The  best  place  is  near  a  light  window  where 
the  sun  shines  but  a  few  hours  during  the  day,  and  then 
it  must  be  placed  so  that  most  of  the  time  it  may  be 
shaded  from  direct  sunlight.  It  is  generally  stated  that 
an  aquarium  should  stand  where  the  sun  will  not  shine 
directly  on  it,  but  the  plants  are  then  apt  to  grow  weak ; 
hence  it  is  desirable,  and  should  be  possible,  to  admit 
sunlight  without  moving  the  aquarium.  However,  a  more 
serious  difficulty  in  properly  locating  the  aquarium  is  that 
of  too  much  light.  A  pond  receives  light  only  from 
above,  and  even  there  the  water  is  generally  the  clearest 
and  the  plants  freest  from  overgrowths  of  slimes  in  shady 
nooks  along  the  shore.  We  must  study  nature  closely 
and  try  to  imitate  the  conditions  that  produce  the  best 
results  in  the  ponds  of  the  neighborhood.  The  growth 
on  the  glass  and  plants  of  green  or  brown  algae,  often  in 
slimy  masses  that  fill  the  water,  indicates  too  much  light. 
Shade  well  for  a  time  and  put  in  tadpoles  and  snails  to 
feed  upon  the  algae.  While  difficult  enough  to  make  it 
interesting,  it  is  a  valuable  study,  —  that  of  balancing  the 
life  and  managing  the  light  in  an  aquarium  so  that  the 
water  will  remain  clear  and  sweet  ;  and  the  knowledge 
thus  gained  will  be  found  applicable  to  the  conditions  of 
park  waters  and  ponds  in  general. 


402  NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 

How  often  does  the  water  require  changing  ?  This  is 
the  question  often  asked  by  those  who  wish  to  start  an 
aquarium.  The  answer  is  :  "Not  once  a  year,  if  the  ani- 
mals and  plants  and  light  are  properly  balanced  and  regu- 
lated." In  doing  this  it  is  best  to  use  the  plants  and 
animals  that  live  in  still  water,  in  ponds  and  quiet  pools, 
rather  than  those  characteristic  of  the  running  streams. 
Aquaria  with  running  water  are  more  difficult  to  manage 
and  are  expensive  in  use  of  water.  They  are,  moreover, 
a  constant  menace  as  to  flooding  the  building,  and  cannot 
be  recommended  for  school  use. 

What  causes  the  water  to  become  cloudy  or  milky  ? 
This  is  the  next  troublesome  question,  and  with  fifty  chil- 
dren all  anxious  to  feed  the  fishes  something,  it  would 
seem  that  every  school  aquarium  must  be  in  this  condi- 
tion all  the  time.  But  one  of  the  chief  uses  of  an  aqua- 
rium is  to  make  the  children  careful  and  thoughtful,  and  as 
experience  has  shown,  they  readily  learn  that  giving  more 
food  than  the  fishes  and  other  animals  will  eat  clean,  gen- 
erally before  it  sinks  to  the  bottom,  is  the  quickest  way  to 
make  the  water  foul  and,  possibly,  to  kill  their  pets.  We 
shall  learn  more  of  this  when  we  study  about  bacteria  in 
the  water.  Fishes,  and  aquatic  animals  in  general,  should 
not  be  fed  oftener  than  once  a  day,  and  then  only  so  much 
as  will  be  eaten  clean.  If  mistakes  are  made  in  their  eager- 
ness to  feed  bountifully,  the  children  who  do  it  should  be 
asked  to  remove  all  surplus  food  with  a  siphon  or  dipping 
tube  before  it  has  had  time  to  decay. 

What  animals  can  be  safely  kept  together  in  the  aqua- 
rium is  another  frequent  question.  The  general  rule  of 
keeping  predaceous  species  by  themselves,  except  while 


AQUARIA  403 

we  are  making  definite  feeding  tests,  is  the  best  one  to 
follow.  The  vegetable  feeders,  or  those  that  eat  only 
animals  not  larger  than  worms  and  insects,  may  be  kept 
together.  If  we  are  not  certain  what  a  new  specimen 
may  do,  it  is  best  to  partition  off  one  end  of  the  aquarium 
for  it  while  we  study  its  foods  and  habits.  This  may  be 
done  by  forcing  a  pane  of  glass  into  the  sand  below  and 
wedging  it  at  the  top  with  bits  of  cork.  Goldfishes  and 
other  varieties  of  carp,  shiners,  dace  and  all  kinds  of 
suckers,  darts,  orfs,  frog  and  toad  tadpoles,  young  newts, 
and  salamanders  may  be  kept  together.  Bass,  perch, 
sunfish,  trout,  pickerel  and  pike,  pouts  and  eels,  stickle- 
backs and  paradise  fishes,  turtles,  water  snakes,  large 
salamanders  and  frogs,  leeches,  water  beetles  and  dragon- 
fly larvae  must  generally  be  kept  by  themselves.  Clams, 
snails,  and  tadpoles  form  the  scavenger  brigade  for  every 
well-ordered  aquarium. 

A  few  simple  pieces  of  apparatus  will  aid  greatly  in 
management  of  the  aquaria.  A  shallow  dip  net  is  indis- 
pensable in  catching  specimens.  It  may  be  made  accord- 
ing to  directions  for  the  insect  net,  except  that  it  should 
not  be  deeper  than  about  the  diameter  of  the  ring.  A 
small  rubber  scraper  will  probably  be  needed  to  keep  the 
slimes  off  the  glass  until  animal  scavengers  and  light  can 
be  properly  regulated.  A  dipping  tube,  i.e.,  a  piece  of 
glass  tubing,  about  fifteen  inches  long  and  a  little  less 
than  one-half  inch  in  diameter,  with  nicely  fused  ends, 
will  be  used  daily.  A  piece  of  half-inch  rubber  tubing 
about  two  and  one-half  feet  long  may  serve  as  a  siphon 
to  draw  off  the  sediment  from  the  bottom  from  time 
to  time. 


404 


CHAPTER    XXV 

MISCELLANEOUS   ANIMALS 

A  NUMBER  of  animals,  too  important  to  omit  from 
nature-study  courses  but  not  fitting  in  with  those  already 
treated,  may  be  grouped  together  in  this  chapter.  Each 
may  be  taken  up  as  occasion  presents  itself  during  the 
year  and  season  indicated  in  the  grade  plan. 

The  Bat.  —  This  is  an  interesting  but  misunderstood  ani- 
mal. Not  infrequently  one  drops  out  of  a  ventilator  into 
a  schoolroom  or  is  brought  in  as  a  curiosity,  too  often  dead, 
by  one  of  the  pupils.  Suppose  we  have  a  live  bat,  let  us 
see  what  it  will  eat.  It  may  open  its  mouth  and  chatter 
in  a  most  threatening  manner,  but  while  we  should  not  put 
our  fingers  in  the  way  of  its  sharp  teeth,  it  can  be  handled 
in  a  towel  or  handkerchief.  It  may  be  tamed,  gener- 
ally in  a  few  minutes,  by  gentle  treatment  and  feeding,  so 
that  it  will  take  insects  and  lick  drops  of  water  from  the 
fingers.  It  is  only  necessary,  when  it  opens  its  mouth  to 
defend  itself,  to  drop  in  a  fly,  meal  worm,  spider,  or  even 
a  bit  of  raw  meat,  possibly  at  first  on  the  end  of  a  tooth- 
pick or  hat  pin.  It  will  soon  understand,  and  then  feed- 
ing tests  may  be  made  with  whatever  bugs  or  insects  the 
children  can  find.1 

1  The  writer  has  not  been  able  to  find  any  insects  that  a  hungry  bat 
refuses  to  eat ;  but  we  must  be  a  little  careful  not  to  overfeed ;  on  one 
occasion  he  fed  a  bat  243  flies,  but,  while  it  apparently  ate  the  last  one 
with  relish,  it  died  a  few  minutes  afterwards. 

405 


406  NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 

Whether  or  not  we  are  able  to  do  any  of  this  practical 
work,  we  should  strive  to  gain  definite  knowledge  of  the 
role  these  animals  play  in  nature.  So  few  of  our  birds 
are  truly  nocturnal,  and  so  many  of  our  worst  insect  pests 
-  the  codling  moth,  tent-caterpillar  moths,  the  white- 
marked  tussock  moth,  owlet  moths,  parents  of  the  cut- 
worms, June  beetles,  mosquitoes,  and  a  host  of  others  — 


FIG.  164.     FEEDING  A  BAT 

have  taken  refuge  in  the  darkness,  that  we  need  the  bat  as 
the  night  police  of  our  gardens.  They  should  be  accorded 
much  the  same  protection  as  our  most  valuable  insectiv- 
orous birds.  Koebele  describes  bats  flitting  about  an 
infested  apple  tree  catching  codling  moths  on  the  wing 
and  even  snapping  them  from  the  leaves,  and  the  writer 
has  repeatedly  fed  these  moths  and  their  larvae  to  bats  in 
confinement. 


MISCELLANEOUS    ANIMALS  407 

An  instructive  problem  may  be  made  as  follows  :  If  a  bat  catch 
one  female  codling  moth  every  night  from  May  20  to  July  i,  how 
many  bushels  of  apples  may  be  saved,  allowing  that  each  moth  lay 
fifty  eggs  on  as  many  apples  and  that  there  are  two  hundred  apples 
to  the  bushel?  Ans.  273  bushels. 

An  unwarranted  fear  and  dislike  of  bats  seems  to  be  general  in 
this  country.  They  are  said  to  fly  into  people's  hair,  necessitating 
cutting  it  off,  if  long,  in  order  to  get  them  out.  The  writer  has  had 
bats  for  months  at  a  time  given  full  liberty  of  the  house,  but  has 
never  known  of  such  an  accident.  Even  if  one  should  get  into  the 
hair,  it  would  do  no  harm  and  could  be  easily  removed  if  the  person 
were  not  frightened.  It  is  also  said  that  they  carry  vermin,  especially 
bedbugs,  but  I  have  examined  dozens  and  never  found  a  single  speci- 
men ;  and,  further,  I  have  found  that  they  actually  eat  bedbugs  with 
apparent  relish.  Bats  are  known  to  live  in  caves,  hollow  trees,  and 
the  crevices  about  barns  and  houses,  often  in  colonies  of  scores  or 
even  hundreds.  The  fact  that  such  numbers  are  able  to  find  sub- 
sistence is  sufficient  proof  that  a  family  of  bats  is  a  valuable  acquisi- 
tion to  a  farm  or  garden. 

Squirrels.  —  These  are  graceful  pets  and,  next  to  the 
birds,  form  the  most  animated  life  of  parks  and  wood- 
lands. It  is  one  of  our  crimes  against  nature  that  they 
have  been  so  nearly  exterminated  in  many  sections.  What 
the  children  can  do  to  bring  them  back  is  the  ques- 
tion for  nature  study.  Their  food  consists  chiefly  of 
nuts  and  acorns,  which  fall  in  such  abundance  that  we 
should  not  begrudge  them  the  few  they  need,  and  they 
undoubtedly  plant  enough  to  repay  the  trees  for  those 
they  eat. 

Perhaps  one  of  the  pupils  has  a  tame  squirrel  that  he 
can  bring  to  school  for  a  few  days.  If  so,  we  shall  be  able 
to  study  its  foods  and  habits  in  such  wise  as  to  enable  the 
children  to  form  a  genuine  acquaintance  with  it.  If  there 


408  NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 

are  squirrels  or  chipmunks  about  the  schoolhouse,  it  is 
generally  an  easy  matter  to  tame  them  by  leaving  nuts  or 
bits  of  bread  in  some  convenient  crotch,  and  soon  they 
will  be  coming  regularly  to  share  the  children's  lunch. 


FIG.  165.    TAMING  A  CHIPMUNK 
(Photograph  by  Miss  Jessie  Gelston  Whiting) 

As  to  the  different  species,  a  few  facts  should  be  devel- 
oped in  connection  with  rearing  them,  especially  in  towns 
and  city  parks. 

The  common  red  squirrel,  or  chickaree,  is  the  living 
impersonation  of  mischief.  He  will  cut  every  pear  from 


MISCELLANEOUS    ANIMALS  409 

a  tree,  —  to  eat  the  seeds  of  a  few  perhaps,  —  apparently 
for  the  mere  fun  of  seeing  them  drop.  This  alone  makes 
it  inadvisable  to  have  him  around.  But  a  more  serious 
crime  of  which  this  little  rogue  has  been  convicted  con- 
sists in  robbing  nests  and  eating  birds'  eggs  and  young 
birds;  so,  in  general,  the  fewer  red  squirrels  we  have  the 
better  for  our  birds.  Have  any  of  the  children  observed 
this  for  themselves  ? 

Our  gray  squirrel  is  commonly  accredited  with  neither 
of  these  injurious  traits  and,  together  with  the  large  fox 
squirrel,  may  be  freely  encouraged  to  come  and  live  with 
us.  In  a  single  instance,  among  many  that  the  writer 
could  cite,  in  which  gray  squirrels  became  too  numerous, 
some  damage  was  done  to  fruit  ;  but  this  may  have  been 
due  to  lack  of  food  or,  more  probably,  to  lack  of  water. 
It  would  be  advisable,  at  least,  to  bear  these  points  in 
mind  before  passing  final  judgment.  That  both  food  and 
water  in  plenty  have  no  influence  in  reducing  the  mis- 
chievous propensities  of  at  least  one  red  squirrel  the 
writer  has  had  abundant  proof. 

The  flying  squirrel,  though  it  is  nocturnal  in  its  habits, 
is  one  of  the  most  interesting  of  the  group  and  is  easily 
domesticated. 

Rats  and  mice  are  too  common  intruders  to  be  omitted 
from  a  course  in  nature  study.  We  sometimes  find  them 
recommended  for  pets,  and  they  both  have  some  interest- 
ing traits;  but  they  have  long  been. recognized  as  hostes 
humani  generis  y  enemies  of  the  human  race,  and  the  plain 
truth  may  as  well  be  taught.  By  the  skillful  and  persistent 
use  of  traps  and  poisons  these  pests  may  easily  be  exter- 
minated. No  less  than  this  should  be  aimed  at,  as  they 


4io 


NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 


multiply  with  such  rapidity,  and  when  this  is  accomplished 
there  will  be  one  less  argument  for  keeping  cats. 

Several  other  common  animals  may  be  studied  as  occa- 
sion offers,  among  them,  woodchucks,  muskrats,  minks, 
otters,  skunks,  moles,  shrews,  and  weasels.  For  the  char- 
acter of  the  latter  the  description  of  Kagax  given  by  Long 
in  Wilderness  Ways  is  admirable.  To  his  graphic  account 


FIG.  166.     TAMING  A  WOOD  TURTLE 

the  writer  may  add  that  one  morning,  when  a  boy,  he  found 
six  sheep  dead  near  an  old  straw  stack  in  a  field.  The  only 
marks  of  violence  in  each  case  were  four  little  cuts  behind 
the  ear,  where  an  artery  had  been  severed.  The  straw  stack 
was  burned  during  the  day,  and  two  old  weasels,  with  a 
litter  of  half -grown  young,  were  found  and  killed. 

Turtles. — These  may  be  brought  in  by  the  pupils  and 
acquaintance  made  with  a  few  of  the  commoner  species. 


MISCELLANEOUS    ANIMALS  411 

Most  of  them  are  aquatic  or  semi-aquatic  and  may  be 
kept  in  the  aquarium.  Their  habit  of  crawling  out  on  rocks 
and  logs  to  sun  themselves  should  be  borne  in  mind  in  set- 
ting up  the  aquarium  for  them.  As  some  are  terrestrial, 
a  good  rule  to  follow  is  the  one  already  given  for  other 
animals  :  Study  the  environment  in  which  they  may  be 
found  and  make  that  of  the  aquarium,  or  vivarium,  as  nearly 
like  it  as  possible.  Little  seems  to  be  known  about  the  food 
of  even  the  commonest  turtles.  The  aquatic  forms  —  snap- 
ping turtles,  painted  and  spotted  turtles,  and  the  soft-shelled 
turtles — are  carnivorous  and  feed  mainly  on  fishes,  although 
they  often  take  young  ducks  and  goslings.  The  fact,  as 
every  fisher  boy  knows  to  his  chagrin,  that  they  are  often 
caught  with  the  baited  hook  demonstrates  their  fondness 
for  earthworms,  and  this  is  the  food  upon  which  they  may 
be  most  easily  kept  in  confinement.  The  box  and  wood 
turtles  subsist  chiefly  on  worms,  slugs,  and  insects,  but 
also  eat  succulent  leaves.  They  should  be  given  lettuce 
or  cabbage,  together  with  earthworms,  and  if  some  child  has 
a  tame  turtle,  interesting  feeding  tests  may  be  made.  Young 
turtles  will  be  found  to  eat  mosquito  wrigglers  with  great 
avidity. 

Not  the  least  interesting  things  about  these  queer  ani- 
mals are  their  nests  and  eggs.  What  boy  or  girl  will 
volunteer  to  find  some  turtles'  eggs  and  bring  them  to 
school  ?  They  may  be  found,  often  in  great  numbers, 
buried  in  the  sandy  banks  of  ponds  or  streams.  It  is  said 
that  young  turtles  as  soon  as  hatched  crawl  toward  the 
nearest  water.  Test  whether  this  is  true. 

Lizards.  —  These  are  different  from  salamanders,  which 
they  resemble  in  form,  in  having  the  skin  covered  with 


412  NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 

overlapping  scales.  Very  few  are  found  farther  north 
than  Pennsylvania,  being  chiefly  tropical  or  subtropical  in 
distribution.  They  are  insectivorous,  and  in  the  Southern 
States,  where  they  abound,  valuable  feeding  tests  may  be 
made  as  suggested  for  toads,  frogs,  and  birds.  The  manner 
of  catching  insects  with  their  long  tongues  is  interesting, 
as  are  also  the  rapid  changes  of  color  of  several  species. 

Snakes.  —  Many  of  the  common  species  are  among  our 
most  beautiful  animals.  A  strange  fascination  seems  to 
attach  to  them,  which  is  almost  certain  to  result  in  their 
intrusion  into  the  nature-study  course  whether  the  teacher 
wishes  it  or  not.  The  fear  of  anything  is  a  heavy  burden 
to  carry  through  life.  The  lurking  fear  of  something  that 
we  are  likely  to  meet  in  our  daily  walks  in  the  fields  or 
woods  may  spoil  much  of  our  enjoyment  in  nature  or,  at 
least,  hem  us  in  on  every  side.  If  for  no  other  reason 
than  to  cast  out  this  fear,  we  may  introduce  a  reasonable 
study  of  these  animals. 

While  some  may  be  inclined  to  consider  the  fear  of  snakes  heredi- 
tary, it  may  quite  as  well  be  explained  as  a  matter  of  suggestion. 
The  fact,  to  which  my  own  experience  attests  in  many  instances, 
that  it  can  be  thrown  off  by  a  moment's  exercise  of  the  will,  and 
also  the  fact  that  children  who  have  never  been  frightened  by  the 
fears  of  others  may  show  no  traces  of  it,  render  this  explanation 
the  more  reasonable.  My  own  children,  for  example,  have  always 
handled  and  played  with  our  harmless  little  snakes  as  freely  as  with 
kittens.  A  single  concrete  instance  will  make  my  meaning  clear. 
I  was  demonstrating  our  common  green  snake,  when  one  of  the 
members  of  the  class  asked  if  I  would  hold  it  while  she  touched  it. 
After  touching  it  she  asked  if  she  could  take  it  in  her  hands.  A 
year  or  two  afterwards  she  referred  to  the  circumstance  and  said  that 
she  had  never  since  felt  the  least  aversion  for  snakes  but  had  thor- 
oughly enjoyed  studying  them.  She  expressed  her  thanks  for  being 


MISCELLANEOUS    ANIMALS  413 

helped  over  her  "  last  nature  fear."     Was  not  the  momentary  effort 
well  worth  the  while  ? 

This  study  is  the  more  to  be  recommended  because  so 
little  is  known  about  the  food  and  habits  of  even  our  com- 
monest species.  Any  child  who  tames  a  snake  and  finds 
out  what  it  eats  is  quite  likely  to  discover  facts  that  may 
extend  the  range  of  knowledge.  This  in  itself  is  a  keen 
incentive.  Are  they  valuable  or  harmful  animals  ?  We 
cannot  tell  until  we  learn  their  foods,  and  this,  according 
to  the  Washington  authorities,  "  is  not  known  for  a  single 
species  of  North  American  snake." 

We  know,  in  general,  that  all  snakes  feed  upon  living  animals, 
which  they  swallow  whole,  and  very  often  alive.  Garter  snakes  feed 
largely  on  toads  and  frogs ;  water  snakes  are  known  to  destroy 
great  numbers  of  fishes;  and  the  black  snake  has  the  well-earned 
reputation  of  killing  birds  and  robbing  their  nests.  Whether  they 
do  enough  good  to  offset  this  harm,  or  whether  they  do  any  good 
at  all,  remains  to  be  discovered  by  patient  observation  and  study. 
As  far  as  the  evidence  goes  at  present,  however,  it  seems  that  the 
fewer  we  have  the  better. 

No  such  harmful  traits  can  be  attributed  to  our  green,  or  grass, 
snake  or  to  the  little  brown  snakes,  since  they  probably  feed  exclu- 
sively upon  worms  and  insects.  As  they  are  gentle  and  harmless, 
never  attempting  to  bite  or  to  defend  themselves,  they  are  the  best 
forms  with  which  to  begin  acquaintance.  They  may  be  readily  found 
under  flat  stones.  In  June  or  July  they  deposit  their  eggs  under  the 
stones  where  they  live.  The  eggs  are  white,  irregularly  oblong,  few 
in  number,  and  about  the  size  of  sparrows'  eggs ;  the  shells  are  thin 
and  papery,  and  a  little  later,  when  we  hold  them  up  to  the  light,  we 
may  see  the  young  snakes  coiled  up  inside. 

Fishes.  —  The  original  plan  of  this  book  included  a 
chapter  on  the  common  fresh-water  food  and  game  fishes. 
As  it  is,  a  few  of  the  more  important  are  distributed 


414  NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 

through  the  grade  plan,  with  the  understanding  that  the 
pupils  shall  study  them  alive  in  their  aquaria,  and  in  the 
ponds  and  streams  by  the  general  methods  suggested  for 
frogs  and  salamanders.  Feeding  tests  will  be  found 
especially  interesting.  Ask  the.  pupils  particularly  to 
observe  the  spawning  seasons  and  habits  of  the  different 
species.  These  matters  should  be  as  thoroughly  learned 
as  the  nesting  seasons  of  the  birds,  in  order  that  we  may 
give  fishes  the  universal  protection  which  may  result  in 
restocking  our  barren  waters. 

Botflies.  —  A  family  of  flies  which  do  not  belong  properly 
with  household  or  garden  insects,  may  be  introduced  here. 
The  botflies  are  large  brownish  hairy  flies,  found  buzzing 
about  horses  and  cattle.  There  are  a  number  of  species. 
The  ox  bot,  or  heel  fly,  lays  its  eggs  on  the  hair  about  the 
fetlocks.  The  eggs  are  licked  off  and  soon  hatch  in  the 
animal's  mouth  or  stomach.  The  larvae  bore  their  way 
through  the  tissues  and  finally  reach  the  skin,  which  they 
perforate,  probably  to  obtain  air.  After  attaining  their 
growth  they  crawl  out,  drop  to  the  ground,  burrow  under 
the  surface,  and  transform  into  pupae.  The  following 
spring  they  emerge  to  repeat  the  story.  The  elk  in 
Fig.  167  is  seen  to  be  afflicted  with  bots. 

Other  botflies  lay  their  eggs  in  the  nostrils  of  animals, 
and  the  larvae  develop  in  the  cavities  of  the  head.  They 
attack  sheep  especially  and  cause  not  only  much  loss  to 
the  farmers,  but  great  suffering  to  the  animals  as  well. 
Several  kinds  attack  our  native  wild  herbivora.  The  elk 
in  Fig.  168  was  thus  killed  by  "grubs  in  the  head."  A 
kingbird  on  every  mullein  stalk  in  the  pasture  would 
possibly  be  the  best  remedy  for  these  pests. 


MISCELLANEOUS    ANIMALS 


415 


Ants.  —  No  insects,  excepting  the  honeybees,  have 
proved  more  interesting  to  study  than  the  ants.  Turn 
over  a  flat  stone  any  time  after  the  middle  of  May  and 
you  are  almost  certain  to  find  a  colony  of  ants.  As  the 
stone  is  lifted,  if  the  day  be  warm,  you  will  see  little  piles 
of  whitish  oblong  bodies,  —  the  pupae,  —  commonly  called 


FIG.  167.    Cow  ELK 
The  lumps  in  the  skin  are  caused  by  botflies.     (Copyright  by  Charles  Irving  Rice) 

eggs ;  and  immediately  the  workers  seize  them  and  hasten 
to  carry  them  down  into  the  nest.  Besides  these  you  may 
often  find  smaller  masses  of  shining  black  eggs.  These, 
probably  eggs  of  plant  lice,  the  workers  also  carry  into 


416  NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 

their  holes.  At  this  season  you  will  commonly  find  at  the 
surface  only  workers,  pupae,  and  eggs.  If  now  a  spade 
be  deeply  thrust  into  the  earth  and  the  whole  nest  turned 
out,  you  may  be  able  to  discover  the  queens,  much  larger 
than  the  workers,  and  the  white  maggot-like  larvae.  At 
this  season  you  are  not  likely  to  find  any  winged  ants  in 
the  nest,  but  later,  in  August  or  September,  the  air  may 
be  filled  with  them,  flying  in  every  direction.  If  we  now 
visit  an  ants'  nest  or  some  ant-hill  in  the  neighborhood, 
we  may  see  swarms  of  winged  males  and  females  issuing 
from  the  ground  and  taking  flight.  This  is  their  wedding 
journey,  and  after  it  the  males  soon  die.  The  females 
either  join  a  colony  of  the  same  species  as  one  of  its 
queens  or  found  a  new  colony.  They  tear  off  their  wings 
as  of  no  further  use,  or  the  workers  do  this  for  them. 

Any  species  that  is  common  in  the  neighborhood  may 
serve  as  the  basis  for  these  lessons,  but  perhaps  the  best 
ones  to  work  with,  aside  from  the  ants  that  infest  the 
house,  described  in  Chapter  V,  are  the  following  : 

The  carpenter  ant,  Camponotus  pennsylvanicus,  one  of 
our  largest  black  ants.  Its  nests  are  built  in  timbers  of 
buildings,  logs,  and  even  trees,  by  excavating  a  complicated 
series  of  passages  and  chambers.  A  nest  of  this  species 
may  be  arranged  for  study,  if  one  is  not  convenient  out- 
side, by  bringing  the  wood  in  which  they  are  working 
into  the  schoolroom  and  mounting  it  on  two  bricks  which 
stand  in  shallow  pans  of  water.  This  latter  is  to  prevent 
them  from  escaping  into  the  room. 

The  mound-building  ant,  Formica  exsectoides,  is  perhaps 
our  most  conspicuous  species  on  account  of  its  large  hills, 
often  from  one  to  two  feet  in  height  and  five  or  six  feet 


MISCELLANEOUS    ANIMALS 


417 


in  diameter.  The  head  and  thorax  are  dull  red,  and  the 
abdomen  and  legs  black. 

The  slave-maker  ant,  Formica  difficilis,  resembles  the 
above  in  size  and  appearance,  but  builds  its  nests  almost 
wholly  underground,  often  beneath  large  flat  stones. 

The  slave  ant,  Formica  subsericea,  is  found  in  colonies 
of  its  own  under  stones  and  commonly,  also,  as  slaves  in 
the  nests  of  the  last-named  species. 


FIG.  168.    ELK  KILLED  BY  GRUBS  IN  THE  HEAD 
(Photograph  by  Charles  Irving  Rice) 

The  corn-louse  ant,  Lasms  brunneus,  is  the  brown  ant, 
about  one-eighth  of  an  inch  in  length,  so  common  about 
roads  and  pastures.  Many,  if  not  all,  ants  attend  aphids, 
in  order  to  obtain  the  sweet  secretion,  commonly  known 


418  NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 

as  honeydew,  which  some  species  discharge.  For  this 
reason  aphids  are  sometimes  called  "ant  cows."  The 
milking  of  their  cows  is  readily  observed.  Practically  all 
the  ants  seen  about  trees  are  tending  their  herds  of  cows, 
and  if  we  follow  one  we  may  soon  see  her  come  up  to  an 
aphid  and  stroke  it  gently  with  her  feelers.  In  response 
the  aphid  emits  a*  little  droplet  of  honeydew  from  two 
minute  tubes  on  its  back,  and  this  the  ant  eagerly  licks  up. 
A  destructive  species  of  aphid,  the  corn  louse,  feeds  upon 
the  roots  of  corn,  and  it  has  been  found  that  the  brown 
ant  collects  the  eggs  of  this  aphid  in  the  fall,  takes  care 
of  ther  "  its  nest  during  the  winter,  and  carries  the 
new]  "  olant  lice  back  to  the  corn  roots  in  the 

sp>  ible  that  this  or  other  species  of  ants  may 

distnl    te  plant  I  n  similar  manner  to  the  leaves  of 

trees  or  s.      bs,  but  this  v has  not  as  yet  been  discovered. 

An  ants'  iiest  may  be  made  with  a  slate  and  a  pane  of 
glass  large  enough  to  rest  upon  t  he  frame  all  the  way 
around.  Cut  one  o.  '  little  passageways  in  the 

frame,  have  a  board  just  .as  large  as  the  glass  to  keep 
the  nest  dark  when  not  undd  I  stand  the 

slate  on  two  bricks  in  a  shallow  .  ^ -in  of  w  To  fill 

the  nest  select  a  hot,  sunny  afterno  n,  turn  over  ;.;  "'it 
stone  quickly,  and  with  a  spoon  first  scrape  up  as  many 
ants,  pupae,  and  eggs  as  possible  into  a  wide-mouthed 
bottle ;  then  dig  open  the  nest  and  be  sure  to  caich  one 
or  more  queens,  with  as  many  more  ants,  eggs,  and  larvae 
as  possible.  Cork  the  bottle  and,  without  more  delay  than 
necessary,  turn  the  contents  upon  the  slate,  spreading  it 
out  so  that  the  glass  will  rest  on  the  frame,  and  cover 
up.  By  the  next  morning  you  will  find  a  well-ordered 


MISCELLANEOUS    ANIMALS  419 

ants'  nest,  with  its  chambers  and  passageways,  the  queens, 
eggs,  larvae,  and  pupae  all  nicely  arranged  in  the  center. 
By  feeding  with  sugar,  crumbs  of  cake,  insects,  or  bits 
of  meat  placed  on  the  board  cover  or  around  the  edges 
cf  the  frame,  they  may  be  kept  as  long  as  is  desired. 
In  this  way  the  whole  life  and  work  of  the  colony 
may  be  observed  and  studied  in  the  most  convenient 
manner. 

An  ordinary  roofing  slate,  about  twelve  inches  square, 
with  strips  of  one-quarter  inch  wood, glued  to  it  so  as  to 
include  a  rectangular  area  a  little  smaller 
than  the  slate,  say  ten  inches  square, 
and  arranged  as  above  described,  makes 
a  most  satisfactory  ants'  nest. 

Spiders.  —  These  interesting  creatures 
play  too  important  a  role  in  nature  to 
omit  from  the  course.  To  gain  an  idea  of 
how  many  spiders  there  are,  look  out 
on  some  grassy  meadow  on  a  dewy  morn- 
ing. The  grass  is  carpeted  with  webs.  FIG.  169, 
On  the  one  side,  spiders  destroy  winged  AN  INTERESTING 

a  •  • .  i  EXPERIMENT 

insects  —  flies,    mosquitoes,    gnats,    and 
moths.      Let  each  one  of  the  children  examine  some  con 
veniently  placed  spider  web  from  time  to  time  for  two  or 
three  days  and  report,  as  nearly  as  possible,  how  many 
and  what  insects  are  caught  in  it.      On  the  other  hand, 
spiders  are  most  valuable  food  for  birds.      Bird  fanciers, 
in  fact,  consider  them  the  best  medicine  for  birds,  acting 
like  magic  to  make  them  well. 

While  the  class  is  studying  spiders,  which  should  be  in 
September,  have  them  collect  all  the  different  kinds  of 


420  NATURE    STUDY   AND    LIFE 

spiders'  eggs  they  can  find.  They  are  laid  in  little  bags 
of  spider  web,  hung  up  in  the  web,  as  with  the  common 
house  spider,  or  placed  in  cracks,  under  boards,  scales  of 
bark,  or  under  stones.  If  the  eggs  are  kept  in  a  cold 
place,  the  hatching  in  the  spring  will  furnish  interesting 
lessons. 

A  spider  may  be  encouraged  to  spin  in  one  of  the 
schoolroom  windows,  or  one  may  be  confined  for  this  pur- 
pose in  a  dry  aquarium,  and  then,  with  the  aid  of  their 
insect  nets,  the  children  can  bring  in  flies  and  mosquitoes 
to  feed  it.  Besides  the  common  house  spider  for  these 
observations,  be  sure  to  have  an  orb  weaver,  as  its  web  is 
the  most  interesting  and  beautiful  of  all.  By  studying 
a  jumping  spider,  a  running  spider,  a  cobweb  or  funnel 
weaver,  an  orb  weaver,  and  a  gossamer  or  flying  spider 
a  fair  idea  of  the  life  and  habits  of  this  group  may  be 
obtained.  The  jumping  spiders  are, found  on  plants,  logs, 
sides  of  buildings,  etc.  They  are  usually  hairy,  are  very 
agile,  and  catch  their  prey  by  springing  upon  it.  They 
spin  webs  only  as  egg  sacs  or  as  shelters  in  which  to 
moult  or  'hibernate.  For  the  South  the  trapdoor  spider 
should  be  added  to  the  list. 

An  interesting  lesson  with  the  spider.  Have  a  pan  or  basin  filled 
with  water  on  a  table  in  the  largest  open  space  in  the  schoolroom. 
By  using  an  ink  bottle  or  even  a  potato  to  hold  it  upright,  erect  in 
the  pan  a  stick  twelve  or  fifteen  inches  high.  Have  the  children  bring 
in  various  kinds  of  spiders,  —  almost  any  kind  will  do  for  this  experi- 
ment. Select  one  and  place  it  on  the  top  of  the  stick  and  let  the 
class  watch  the  spider's  movements.  It  will  first  run  down  the  stick, 
but  will  find  that  it  cannot  escape,  because  this  is  surrounded  by 
water  ;  it  will  then  mount  to  the  top  again.  After  several  more 
trials  to  escape,  the  children  will  notice  that  the  spider  is  spinning  a 


MISCELLANEOUS    ANIMALS 


421 


fine  silken  thread.  This  grows  longer  and  longer  and  floats  out  into 
the  schoolroom.  It  floats  to  and  fro  and  at  last  is  caught  on  some 
piece  of  furniture,  perhaps  a  desk.  The  thread,  which  extends  from 
the  top  of  the  stick  to  the  desk,  is  very  slack,  and  now  the  little 
weaver  is  seen  to 
tighten  and  fasten  it. 
This  done,  he  quickly 
runs  across  and  makes 
his  escape. 

The  story  of  the 
first  suspension  bridge 
is  thus  told,  "  an  engi- 
neering feat  of  which 
the  spider  was  the 
earliest  discoverer."1 

How  many  of 
the  class  think 
that  spiders  are 
insects  ?  What  is 
an  insect?  What  is 
a  bug  ?  What  is  a 
worm  ?  These  are 
questions  relating 
rather  to  the  right 
use  of  language 
than  to  compara- 
tive zoology,  and 
we  may  as  well  clear  them  up.  Ask  each  child,  after 
putting  these  questions  and  letting  him  try  to  answer 
them,  to  bring  to  school  a  worm,  a  bug,  another  kind  of 
insect,  and  a  spider.  It  is  convenient  to  have  them 
brought  in  dry,  clean  bottles  for  ready  observation  and 

1  Read  Gibson's  "  The  Spider's  Span  "  in  Sharp  Eyes.     (Mary  C.  Henry.) 


FIG.  170.     AN  ORB  WEAVER 


422  NATURE    STUDY   AND    LIFE 

comparison.  Has  every  one  a  worm  ?  They  should  all 
have  an  earthworm  or  a  leech.  What  is  the  main  differ- 
ence between  the  worm  and  all  the  rest  ?  While  it  is 
made  up  of  segments,  somewhat  like  many  caterpillars 
and  grubs,  it  has  no  legs.  What  difference  can  the 
children  discover  between  the  mouth  of  a  worm  and  that 
of  a  grub  or  caterpillar  ?  The  children  have  had  occasion 
to  observe  various  caterpillars  as  they  eat  the  leaves  by 
gnawing  off  particles  with  their  sharp  jaws.  What  does 
an  earthworm  eat,  and  how  does  it  manage  without  either 
jaws  or  teeth  ?  What  child  will  volunteer  to  find  out  and 
tell  the  class  ?  What  does  a  leech  eat  ?  Boys  who  have 
been  in  swimming  or  who  have  caught  fishes  with  leeches 
attached  to  their  gills  can  tell.  Hereafter  we  shall  try 
to  distinguish  between  worms  and  the  larvae  of  insects, 
and  we  can  tell  most  of  them  apart  at  a  glance.  Several 
marine  worms  are  provided  with  sharp  hooks  or  teeth, 
but  they  have  no  legs. 

Next,  what  chief  differences  do  they  see  between  a 
spider  and  an  insect  ?  The  insect  is  divided  into  three 
parts,  viz.,  a  head,  chest,  or  thorax,  and  abdomen  ;  the 
spider  into  two,  —  head  and  chest  united  and  abdomen. 
Further,  all  insects  have  six  legs,  no  more  nor  less,  and 
most  of  them  have  one  or  two  pairs  of  wings.  Do  any 
spiders  have  wings  ?  How  many  legs  do  spiders  have  ? 
Eight.  Hereafter,  then,  we  will  try  to  call  spiders, 
spiders,  and  not  insects.  We  have  found,  too,  that 
insects  go  through  wonderful  transformations,  the  egg 
hatching  into  a  larva,  the  larva  changing  into  a  pupa, 
the  pupa  finally  transforming  into  the  perfect  insect  like 
that  which  laid  the  egg.  What  hatches  from  a  spider's 


MISCELLANEOUS    ANIMALS 


423 


egg  ?     It   is  never  a  wormlike  larva  but   always  a  little 
spider. 

Nearly  every  small  creeping  thing  is  called  a  bug. 
All  bugs  are  insects,  but  not  all  insects  are  bugs.  The 
distinction  is  more  difficult  than  those  we  have  just  made. 
Are  any  of  the  class  sure  that  they  have  a  bug  in  their 
bottles  ?  Good  examples  are  the  giant  water  bug,  Belos- 
toma  americanum,  water  boatman,  Corisa  undulata,  squash 


ffismd^utvuuvi 
b 

FIG.  171. 
a,  centipede ;  !>,  millipede ;  c,  sovt  bug. 

bugs,  soldier  bugs,  lice,  bedbugs,  plant  lice,  leaf  hoppers, 
and  scale  insects.  Bugs  may  or  may  not  have  wings,  but 
all  agree  in  having  mouth  parts  for  piercing  and  sucking. 
If  some  child  will  volunteer  to  bring  in  eggs  of  the  squash 
bug,  we  will  watch  them  hatch  and  thereby  gain  one  of 
the  distinguishing  characters  of  the  group.  If  a  good 
magnifying  glass  is  at  hand,  the  eggs  of  plant  lice  will 
do.  The  eggs  of  bugs  hatch  into  forms  more  nearly  like 
their  parents  than  is  the  case  with  most  other  insects. 
They  have  no  wings  at  first,  but  otherwise  resemble 
their  parents.  We  will  thus  understand  by  bugs  certain 
kinds  of  insects  that  do  not  undergo  a  complete  change  in 


424  NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 

passing  from  the  egg  to  the  adult  and  that  live  by  suck- 
ing the  juices  of  plants  or  animals.  They  stand  low  in 
the  scale  of  insect  life. 

The  children  will  doubtless  have  brought  in,  for  worms 
or  insects,  a  number  of  forms  that  do  not  fit  in  any  of  the 
above  groups.  They  are  probably  wormlike  but  have  far 
too  many  legs  to  be  classed  with  the  insects  or  spiders. 
If  not  garden  slugs,  which  will  be  described  under  the 
head  of  mollusks,  they  are  probably  either  centipedes 
(hundred  legs),  millipedes  (thousand  legs),  or  "sow  bugs." 
These  are  figured  above,  and  when  we  speak  of  them  here- 
after we  shall  call  them  by  their  right  names  and  not  call 
them  insects,  worms,  or  bugs. 

The  centipedes  live  in  clamp  places,  under  logs  and 
stones,  and  feed  on  insects.  The  millipedes  live  in  simi- 
lar places  and  eat  decaying  vegetable  matter  principally, 
but  sometimes  living  plants.  They  may  become  a  serious 
pest  in  a  strawberry  bed  by  eating  holes  in  the  ripest 
berries.  The  sow  bugs  are  often  found  in  great  numbers 
under  rotting  boards  and  logs.  They  undoubtedly  find 
plenty  to  eat,  but  to  discover  just  what  it  is  we  shall  have 
to  make  feeding  tests.  Sow  bugs  belong  to  the  great 
group  of  Crustacea  along  with  the  crayfishes  and  crabs. 

Earthworms.  —  Every  boy  has  made  the  acquaintance  of 
these  animals  as  bait  for  a  fishhook,  but  how  many  know 
or  realize  the  role  they  play  in  nature  ?  Says  Darwin  l : 

When  we  behold  a  wide,  turf-covered  expanse,  we  should  remem- 
ber that  its  smoothness,  on  which  so  much  of  its  beauty  depends,  is 
mainly  due  to  all  the  inequalities  having  been  slowly  levelled  by 
worms.  It  is  a  marvellous  reflection  that  the  whole  of  the  superficial 

1  Vegetable  Mould  and  Earth- Worms,  p.  313. 


MISCELLANEOUS    ANIMALS  425 

mould  over  any  such  expanse  has  passed,  and  will  again  pass,  every 
few  years  through  the  bodies  of  worms.  The  plough  is  one  of  the 
most  ancient  and  most  valuable  of  man's  inventions  ;  but  long  before 
he  existed  the  land  was  in  fact  regularly  ploughed,  and  still  continues 
to  be  thus  ploughed  by  earth-worms.  It  may  be  doubted  whether 
there  are  many  other  animals  which  have  played  so  important  a  part 
in  the  history  of  the  world,  as  have  these  lowly  organized  creatures. 

Earthworms  burrow  into  the  soil  to  a  depth  of  from 
three  to  eight  feet,  making  channels  for  water,  air,  and  the 
roots  of  plants  to  penetrate.  In  order  to  study  this  sub- 
ject have  each  child  count  the  worm  burrows  in  a  square 
foot  of  ground.  They  may  be  found  by  the  little  piles  of 
castings  at  the  mouth  of  each  burrow  and  also  by  the 
leaves  and  grass  that  the  worms  have  pulled  into  the 
opening  to  feed  upon  and  to  close  the  door.  If  a  box 
be  turned  over  the  area  a  day  or  two  before  the  count 
is  made,  so  that  the  surface  will  not  be  disturbed  or  the 
castings  washed  away  by  rains,  the  burrows  will  be  more 
easily  found. 

Next  fill  a  small  aquarium  with  fine  sand  or  garden 
earth  and  place  three  or  four  large  worms  on  the  surface. 
Study  the  way  they  burrow.  After  they  have  established 
themselves  in  their  burrows  scatter  a  little  grass  or  a  few 
dead  leaves  on  the  surface  and  observe  from  day  to  day 
what  the  worms  do  with  them.  If  sand  and  leaves  be 
used,  and  the  aquarium  be  left  for  a  number  of  weeks, 
the  formation  of  vegetable  mould  may  be  observed  in  a 
striking  manner. 

Von  Hensen  placed  two  worms  in  a  vessel  eighteen  inches  in 
diameter,  which  was  filled  with  sand,  on  which  fallen  leaves  were 
strewed  ;  these  were  soon  dragged  into  their  burrows  to  a  depth  of 
three  inches.  After  about  six  weeks  an  almost  uniform  layer  of  sand, 


426  NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 

a  centimeter  (.4  of  an  inch)  in  thickness,  was  converted  into  humus 
by  having  passed  through  the  alimentary  canals  of  these  two  worms. 
DARWIN,  loc.  cit.,  p.  310. 

To  see  the  earthworms  at  work  under  natural  condi- 
tions, since  they  are  nocturnal,  we  must  ask  the  pupils  to 
take  a  lantern  in  the  evening  and  study  this  lesson,  for 
at  least  fifteen  minutes,  out  on  the  ground.  Just  after  a 
good  rain  in  June  is  the  time ;  for  if  it  is  dry,  the  worms 
will  be  feeding  on  the  materials  they  have  drawn  into 
their  holes  and  will  not  come  to  the  surface.  They  may, 
however,  be  induced  to  come  out  by  wetting  down  a 
flower  bed  with  the  garden  hose.  Let  each  child  tell 
what  he  has  observed. 

Sometimes,  especially  after  heavy  rains,  the  worms  are 
seen  crawling  all  over  the  ground  ;  but  generally  they 
will  be  found  with  the  tail  end  clinging  to  the  burrow, 
the  body  stretched  out  over  the  ground,  and  with  the 
mouth  sucking  and  pulling  at  bits  of  leaves  or  grass. 
When  a  hold  is  obtained  on  a  leaf  the  body  contracts 
and  the  leaf  is  drawn  toward  the  burrow.  If  the  children 
have  learned  their  lesson  properly  and  have  observed 
this,  ask  them  why  the  worm  clings  to  its  burrow.  Can 
they  find  eyes,  nose,  or  ears  anywhere  in  the  body  of 
an  earthworm  ?  Can  a  worm  see  ?  Can  it  hear  ?  Can 
it  smell  ?  Let  them  try  to  answer  these  questions  for 
themselves  by  appropriate  experiments  and  observations. 
If  they  turn  the  light  of  a  lantern  on  the  head  end  of 
a  worm,  after  a  few  seconds  it  will  generally  draw  back 
into  its  burrow.  This  proves  that  it  can  slowly  distin- 
guish light  from  darkness.  This  is  further  shown  by  the 
fact  that  earthworms  are  nocturnal.  As  to  hearing,  one 


MISCELLANEOUS    ANIMALS 


427 


may  whistle,  shout,  or  even  fire  a  toy  pistol,  but  the  worms 
give  no  response.  They  cannot  hear  at  all.  To  test  for 
smell,  place  a  bit  of  onion  a  little  to  one  side  and  near 
the  head  of  the  worm.  It  soon  reaches  about  and  finds 
it.  It  can  smell  a  little.  This  experiment  may  be  made 
with  the  worms  in  the  aquarium,  as  Darwin  has  shown,  by 
burying  the  onion,  when  it  will  always  be  found  and  dug 
up  by  the  worms.  Lacking  all 
the  special  senses  that  higher 
animals  use  so  much,  if  a  worm 
lets  go  the  burrow,  it  cannot  find 
it  again,  but  is  obliged  to  make 
a  new  one.  It  may  be  lost  within 
an  inch  of  its  home,  and  most  of 
those  we  see  about  the  pave- 
ments die  by  drying  up  before 
they  can  find  a  place  to  bur- 
row. Lacking  the  other  sense 
organs,  earthworms  have  a  most 
delicate  sense  of  touch.  Jar 
the  earth  a  little,  stroke  with 
a  feather,  blow  lightly  ;  in  re- 
sponse to  all  these  stimuli  the 
worm  dashes  like  a  rabbit  into  its  burrow. 

Earthworms  lay  eggs  almost  too  small  to  see  with  the 
unaided  eye,  but  they  are  done  up  in  capsules  about 
the  size  of  mustard  seeds,  which  may  be  found  by  sharp 
eyes  near  the  openings  of  the  burrows  along  in  June. 
They  may  be  hatched  in  a  watch  glass,  and  a  little 
fine,  moist  earth  may  be  added  as  soon  as  they  come 
out. 


FIG.  172.  EARTHWORMS  "  RAIN- 
ING UP"  ON  A  VERTICAL 
PANE  OF  GLASS 


428 


NATURE    STUDY   AND    LIFE 


It  is  a  common  belief  that  earthworms  "  rain  down." 
What  do  the  children  think  about  it  ?  The  evidence  that 
is  popularly  assumed  to  prove  this  consists  in  finding 
worms  in  rain-water  barrels  or  gutters.  Let  the  class 
observe  how  easily  a  worm  can  ascend  a  vertical  surface, 
even  a  pane  of  glass,  and  then  decide  whether  the  worms 

"rain  down"  or  "  rain 
up." 

Hair  Worms.  —  These 
strange  creatures  resem- 
ble animated  hairs  so 
closely  that  it  is  not 
strange  that  the  myth 
should  arise  as  to  their 
origin  from  hairs  left 
in  the  water.  If  the 
children  insist  upon  this 
belief  as  strongly  as 
some  grown  people  do, 
it  might  be  well  to  let 
them  put  some  hairs  in 
water  and  see  if  they 
turn  into  hair  worms. 
But  the  true  life  story 
of  hair  worms  is  more 

wonderful  than  the  fiction.  They  are  usually  found  in 
one  of  two  places,  —  in  roadside  or  meadow  pools  after  a 
rain,  in  the  spring  and  summer;  in  the  bodies  of  insects, 
late  in  the  summer  and  fall.  In  the  insect's  body  they 
are  long  white  threads.  I  have  found  one  in  a  katydid, 
more  than  twenty-two  inches  long.  In  the  pools  they  are 


FIG.  173.     THREE  HAIR  WORMS  REMOVED 

FROM  A  GRASSHOPPER 
a,  a  specimen  22^  in.  long,  from  a  katydid. 


MISCELLANEOUS    ANIMALS  429 

dark  in  color  and  continually  writhing  and  twisting  about, 
tying  themselves  into  knots.  This  peculiarity  has  given 
them  the  generic  name  "  Gordius,"  from  the  Gordian  knot. 

In  a  word,  the  life  story  of  one  of  our  common  forms  is 
simply  this  :  The  mature  worm  lives  in  the  ground  and 
comes  out  into  the  pools  to  lay  its  eggs.  The  egg  is  very 
minute,  and  the  tiny  worm  that  hatches  from  it  bores  its 
way  into  some  insect,  usually  a  grasshopper,  and  lives  as 
a  parasite  within  its  body.  The  insect  dies,  and  the  worm 
enters  the  ground  to  pass  the  winter. 

The  nematodes,  to  which  the  hair  worms  belong,  are  a 
large  class  of  lowly  organized  worms.  Most  of  them  live 
in  water,  soil,  or  decaying  matter  and  are  harmless. 
Many  are  almost  or  quite  microscopic  in  size,  the  "  vinegar 
eel "  being  one  of  our  most  common  forms.  A  few  are 
parasitic  in  animals,  living  either  in  the  intestine  or  in 
the  flesh.  It  is  these  latter,  especially  the  trichina  of 
pork,  that  make  it  unsafe  to  eat  meat  that  has  not  been 
thoroughly  cooked.  Other  nematodes  are  parasitic  in 
plants,  especially  in  the  roots,  where  they  produce  swell- 
ings or  galls.  They  are  particularly  destructive  in  the 
greenhouse  and  window  garden  in  the  North,  where  the 
eggs  are  killed  by  freezing  during  the  winter,  but  they 
often  seriously  injure  field  and  garden  crops  farther 
south.1 

Mollusks.  —  These  form  one  of  the  largest  animal  groups, 
there  being  21,320  living  species  and  an  almost  equal 
number  (20,895)  °f  extinct  fossil  species.  How  many 
kinds  do  the  children  know  ?  They  may  be  defined  as 

1  George  E.  Stone  and  Ralph  E.  Smith.  "  Nematode  Worms,"  Bulletin 
No.  55,  Massachusetts  Agricultural  College,  Amherst,  1898. 


430 


NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 


soft-bodied  animals  without  segments  and  without  jointed 
limbs.  Generally  the  body  is  protected  by  a  shell,  either 
single  and  coiled  spirally,  as  with  snails,  periwinkles,  and 
conchs,  or  composed  of  two  pieces  or  valves,  as  in  clams, 
oysters,  and  mussels.  A  few  have  no  shell,  as  the  garden 
slugs  and  the  most  highly  developed  of  the  whole  group, 
the  octopus  and  ink  squid. 

While  the  children  may  be  encouraged  to  collect  fossil 


FIG.  174.    TYPE  FORMS  OF  MOLLUSKS 
a,  fresh-water  clam;  £,  pond  snails;  c,  garden  slug;  d,  octopus. 

shells  and  the  many  species  that  they  may  find  during 
their  summer  vacations  at  the  seashore,  we  will  confine 
our  attention  to  four  of  the  commonest  and  most  widely 
distributed  kinds. 

Can  some  boy  or  girl  bring  in  two  or  three  specimens  of 
the  common  garden  slug,  with  a  nest  of  eggs,  if  they  can 
be  found?  They  may  be  kept  in  a  small  aquarium  and 
fed  on  lettuce  leaves  or  fresh  young  radishes  to  show  what 


MISCELLANEOUS    ANIMALS  431 

havoc  they  may  make  in  a  garden  or  greenhouse.  It  is 
interesting  to  watch  their  movements  in  gliding  over  the 
glass.  How  do  they  do  it  ?  Not  like  a  leech  or  meas- 
uring worm,  by  looping  the  body  and  holding  on  with  first 
one  end,  then  with  the  other  ;  not  like  an  earthworm,  by 
stretching  the  body  and  catching  hold  and  drawing  the  rest 
of  the  body  up.  But  they  remain  apparently  motionless, 
neither  longer  nor  shorter,  and  still  glide  smoothly  and 
rapidly  along.  They  are  nocturnal,  feeding  by  night  and 
lying  hidden  in  damp  places  during  the  day  ;  but  a  telltale 
trail  of  slime  is  left  wherever  they  go,  and  if  they  have 
been  doing  mischief  in  the  garden,  they  may  easily  be  fol- 
lowed home.  The  eggs  are  found  under  boards  in  damp 
places,  but  instead  of  describing  them  I  will  ask  the  children 
to  find  them,  if  they  can,  and  keep  them  to  make  sure  that 
they  hatch  out  into  little  slugs.  The  pupils  may  observe 
how  a  slug  eats,  and  they  are  sure  to  be  interested  in  the 
way  it  breathes,  —  through  a  large  hole,  or  spiracle,  on 
the  right  side. 

In  order  to  keep  the  algae  from  overgrowing  the  sides  of 
our  aquaria  we  need  some  snails,  which  the  children  can 
find  in  any  fresh- water  pond  or  stream.  The  two  kinds 
that  are  most  useful  are  represented  in  Fig.  174.  Their 
eggs  are  laid  in  glairy  masses  fastened  to  the  water  plants 
or  often  to  the  glass  where  their  development  may  be 
easily  watched. 

Among  the  bivalve  mollusks  are  the  oyster,  clam,  quahog, 
scallop,  and  mussel,  all  valuable  for  food  and  connected 
with  interesting  methods  of  cultivation  and  with  fishery 
industries.  Where  these  can  be  studied  alive,  as  along  the 
coast,  they  may  be  brought  into  the  course.  But  the 


432 


NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 


bivalves  of  most  importance  for  the  school  aquaria  and  for 
the  work  of  purifying  surface  waters  are  the  common 
fresh-water  mussels,  or  clams.  They  may  be  found  in  any 
pond  or  stream.  Ask  the  children  to  bring  in  a  few  and 
keep  three  or  four  large  ones  in  each  of  the  larger  aquaria 
and  one  in  each  of  the  small  aquaria.  Now  ask  a  group  of 

the  class  to  test  the  puri- 
fication of  water  by  clams. 
They  may  do  this  by  ar- 
ranging two  small  aqua- 
ria, exactly  alike,  with 
sand  and  plants,  filling 
them  with  water  that  is 
turbid  from  growth  of 
algae  or  bacteria.  Put  a 
clam  in  one  but  not  in 
the  other  and  watch  the 
result.  Generally  the 
water  with  the  clam  in  it 
will  become  perfectly  clear  in  a  few  hours  or  days,  accord- 
ing to  the  size  of  the  aquarium,  while  the  other  grows 
more  and  more  turbid. 

Next  we  will  try  to  discover  how  the  clam  works.  If 
we  look  at  the  clam  from  above,  we  notice  two  openings 
between  the  posterior  ends  of  the  valves.  These  are  sur- 
rounded with  a  fringe  of  dark  papillae  which  are  sensitive  to 
light.  This  may  be  demonstrated  by  suddenly  cutting  off 
the  sunlight,  when  the  valves  will  close.  With  a  fine  straw,, 
or  a  glass  tube  drawn  to  a  fine  opening,  let  fall  close  to 
the  upper  siphon  a  little  colored  liquid,  —  carmine  or  dilute 
India  ink.  It  is  sent  whirling  away  from  the  clam.  Now, 


FIG.  175.     FRESH-WATER  CLAM 

a,  inhalant  siphon  ;  b,  exhalant  siphon ; 

c,  gills ;  d,  mouth  ;  e,  foot. 


MISCELLANEOUS    ANIMALS  433 

without  touching  the  tentacles,  let  a  little  more  fall  near 
the  lower  opening.  It  is  all  drawn  into  the  clam,  and  if  a 
solution  or  a  very  fine  suspension  of  inert  matter,  like  car- 
bon, chalk,  clay,  etc.,  it  is  soon  seen  streaming  out  of  the 
upper  siphon.  If  this  prove  irritating  to  the  clam,  it  will 
shut  up  with  a  snap,  throwing  clouds  of  the  liquid  out  of 
both  siphons.  We  thus  see  that  a  stream  of  water  is  being 
drawn  into  one  siphon  and  thrown  out  at  the  other.  Next, 
take  a  suspension  of  yeast  plants,  small  algae,  or  bacteria, 
let  it  pass  into  the  inhalant  siphon,  and  watch  the  exhal- 
ant  siphon.  It  goes  in  turbid  and  comes  out  perfectly 
clear.  This  shows  what  the  clam  feeds  on,  —  minute  floating 
particles  in  the  water.  The  currents  are  set  up  by  the  gills 
of  the  clam,  the  water  being  passed  through  while  the  food 
material  is  strained  out  and  carried  up  to  the  mouth.  A 
culture  of  typhoid  fever  bacteria,  for  example,  flowed  through 
the  gills  of  an  oyster,  which  are  quite  similar  to  those  of  a 
clam,  came  away  sterile,  i.e.,  with  all  the  bacteria  filtered 
out.  Clams  are  thus  living  filters,  and  in  a  pond  well 
stocked  with  them  they  must  exert  considerable  influence 
in  keeping  the  water  cleansed  of  floating  organic  matter.1 

1  The  structure  of  the  clam  is  explained  somewhat  in  Fig.  175,  and,  if 
the  school  possesses  a  compound  microscope,  the  action  of  the  gills  may 
be  demonstrated,  but  this  may  as  well  be  left  to  later  courses  in  zoology. 


FIG.  176.     A   WOODLAND  SPRING 


434 


CHAPTER    XXVI 

FLOWERLESS   PLANTS 

FERNS,  MOSSES,   LIVERWORTS  AND   LICHENS,  ALG/E, 
MUSHROOMS 

ELEMENTARY  studies  of  plants  commonly  include  only 
those  that  bear  flowers  and  produce  seeds.  The  impor- 
tance attaching  of  late  years  to  many  of  the  lower  forms, 
together  with  their  educational  values,  renders  it  advisable 
to  include  their  study  in  a  course  that  pretends  to  give 
adequate  elementary  instruction  in  the  natural  environment 
of  a  community. 

Ferns.  —  These  form  a  natural  introduction  to  this  group 
of  plants.  Gray's  Botany  gives  sixty-two  species  native 
to  the  United  States.  How  many  different  kinds  can 
the  pupils  find  in  their  neighborhood  ?  A  bed  or  rockery 
of  ferns  will  make  a  beautiful  nook  in  the  school  garden. 
Have  the  children  notice  and  describe  the  places  where 
they  grow  best  ;  then  select  the  most  favorable  spot  for 
the  bed,  generally  a  corner  on  the  shady  side  of  the  school 
building.  If  the  soil  is  not  suitable,  have  a  load  of  black 
leaf  mould  from  the  woods  put  on  the  bed  and  arrange 
naturally  a  few  moss-  and  lichen-covered  rocks  to  give  the 
ferns  their  appropriate  setting.  Since  the  ferns  are  all  hardy 
perennials,  a  bed  once  planted  will  continue  with  little  care 
from  year  to  year  and  yield  good  material  for  drawing  and 

435 


43^ 


NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 


language  lessons,  and  for  study  and  genuine  acquaintance. 
A  small  pool  in  one  edge  of  the  bed  will  add  to  its  beauty 
and  may  support  a  collection  of  interesting  water  ferns. 

Aside  from  their  grace  and  beauty  the  interesting  fact 
connected  with  the  study  of  ferns  is  their  method  of  repro- 
duction by  spores.  Watch  the  underside  of  the  leaves, 
and  when  the  fruit  dots,  or  sori,  as  they  are  called,  turn 


FIG.  177.    COLLECTION  OF  FERNS 
George  Putnam  School,  Roxbury,  Mass. 

brown  and  appear  to  be  ripe,  distribute  pieces  of  the  leaf 
to  the  class  and  let  them  pick  out  some  of  the  spores  on  a 
sheet  of  white  paper  to  gain  a  definite  idea  of  what  is  meant 
by  the  much-used  term  "spore."  The  finest  dustlike  par- 
ticles that  they  find  in  the  sori  are  the  spores.  If  a  few 
leaves  are  permitted  to  dry  over  a  sheet  of  paper,  spores 
may  be  obtained  in  quantity.  It  may  be  too  difficult  a  task 
for  the  children  to  undertake,  but  if  any  wish  to  volunteer, 


FLOWERLESS    PLANTS  437 

let  them  try  to  rear  some  fern  plants  from  the  spores. 
To  do  this  the  spores  must  be  kept  uniformly  damp.  Have 
an  inch  of  wet  sand  in  a  small  aquarium  and  lay  on  this 
a  fragment  of  mossy  flowerpot,  thickly  dusted  over  with 
spores.  Cover  the  aquarium  with  a  piece  of  glass ;  keep 
the  sand  wet  and  watch  carefully  to  see  what  grows  on  it. 
It  might  be  well  to  set  the  aquarium  in  a  greenhouse,  if 
one  is  available,  so  that  it  may  be  kept  at  a  constant  tem- 
perature. If  the  experiment  succeeds,  the  strangest  thing 
of  all  will  come  to  light,  viz.,  that  the  spores  do  not  produce 
ferns  but,  instead,  tiny  little  plants,  consisting  each  of  a 
single  heart-shaped  leaf.  This  is  called  a  "  prothallium,"  and 
from  the  underside  of  this  a  little  fern  will  finally  grow. 

Mosses.  —  The  mosses  are  still  smaller  plants  that  do  not 
bear  flowers  but  reproduce  by  spores.  These  are  often 
borne  on  slender  stems  in  little  capsules.  A  collection  of 
as  many  of  the  common  sorts  as  the  children  can  find  may 
well  be  transplanted  to  the  fern  bed.  There  are  6750 
species  known.  How  many  different  kinds  can  the  chil- 
dren find  in  their  school  yard  ? 

Liverworts.  —  These  are  little  mosslike  plants,  but  their 
stems  are  always  flat,  or,  in  other  words,  carry  a  leaf-like 
expansion  on  either  side.  Their  fruiting  capsule  opens  by 
two  or  four  valves  and  never  by  a  lid  such  as  we  find  in 
the  mosses.  There  are  several  beautiful  little  plants  of 
this  kind  well  adapted  for  the  school  aquaria.  How  many 
different  kinds  can  the  children  find  ? 

Lichens.  —  These  are  a  step  lower  in  the  scale  of  plant 
life.  They  have  no  stems  but  are  leaf-like  growths,  gray  or 
yellowish  green,  on  rocks,  boards,  the  bark  of  trees,  or  the 
ground.  Their  spores  are  borne  in  little  cups  on  the  surface. 


438  NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 

An  abundance  of  these  plants  will  probably  occur  on  the 
stones  in  the  fernery  or  on  the  tree  trunks  in  the  school 
yard.  It  is  not  intended,  for  these  elementary  lessons,  that 
any  of  the  different  species  be  learned,  for  we  have  no 
common  English  names  with  which  to  designate  them. 
There  are  5600  named  species,  but  it  will  be  sufficient  if  the 
class  study  and  draw  two  or  three  of  the  commonest  in  the 
neighborhood  and  learn  to  associate  the  name  "lichen"  with 
them.  It  may  be  possible  to  explain  to  the  class  that 
a  lichen  consists  of  two  different  plants  living  together  : 
a  white  fungus,  consisting  of  a  felt  work  of  minute  threads, 
such  as  we  shall  see  in  the  moulds  and  mushrooms  ;  and 
much  smaller,  generally  greenish  plants,  algae,  entangled 
in  the  meshes  of  the  fungus.  The  fungus  furnishes  sup- 
port and  moisture  to  the  algae,  and,  in  return,  the  algae  by 
means  of  their  green  coloring  matter  and  sunshine  supply 
food  to  the  fungus.  The  algae  can  live  without  the  fungus, 
for  they  can  find  support  and  moisture  for  themselves,  but 
the  fungus  invariably  dies  if  deprived  of  the  help  of  the 
algae,  for  it  cannot  get  food  enough  from  the  stone  to  which 
it  clings,  and  without  chlorophyll  it  cannot  draw  food  from 
the  air  by  the  aid  of  light.  From  this  point  of  view  the 
lichens  serve  as  an  introduction  to  the  two  next  plant 
groups,  —  the  algae  and  the  fungi. 

Algae.  —  We  can  always  find  algae  in  the  school  aquaria, 
often  as  incrustations  or  velvety  growths  on  the  glass,  or 
as  green  slimes  attached  to  the  plants  or  floating  on  the 
surface.  Snails,  tadpoles,  and  clams  will  be  required  to 
keep  the  aquarium  clear.  Algae  vary  in  size,  from  plants 
as  small  as  a  fern  spore  to  the  large  brown  rockweed,  fucus, 
that  clings  to  the  rocks  and  piles  all  along  the  coast.  As 


FLOWERLESS    PLANTS  439 

Dr.  Brooks  has  shown,  they  supply,  directly  or  indirectly, 
the  food  for  all  animal  life  of  the  ocean.  Oysters  feed  upon 
little  else,  and  their  quality  is  influenced  by  the  kinds  of 
algae  that  grow  in  the  water  over  their  beds.  Algae  may 
be  classified  according  to  color  :  ( i)  the  blue  greens,  found 
as  slimy  patches  on  damp  wood  or  stones,  or  in  shallow  fresh 
water  ;  (2)  the  green  algae,  found  in  fresh  water  chiefly  : 
(3)  brown  algae,  kelps,  rockweeds,  etc.,  found  on  the  coast, 
chiefly  marine;  and  (4)  red  algae,  the  "seaweeds,"  or  "sea 
mosses,"  also  mostly  marine.  Ask  the  children  who  go  to 
the  seashore  to  bring  back  a  few  handfuls  of  such  as  they 
can  find.  They  may  be  dried  as  they  come  from  the  salt 
water  and  at  any  time  floated  in  fresh  water  upon  cards  or 
white  paper.  To  come  to  know  them  as  objects  of  beauty 
is  deemed  sufficient.  There  are  at  present  described  and 
named  14,854  species  of  algae.  How  many  kinds  have  the 
class  been  able  to  discover  ? 

Fungi.  —  In  descending  the  scale  of  plant  life,  from  trees, 
wild  flowers,  and  garden  plants,  we  left  flowers  and  seeds 
behind  when  we  came  to  the  ferns.  In  passing  now  from 
the  algae  to  the  fungi  we  leave  the  green  coloring  mat- 
ter, the  chlorophyll,  by  which  these  higher  plants  use  .the 
sunshine  to  help  them  build  wood,  leaves,  and  fruit  from 
water,  soil,  and  air.1 

The  fungi  form  an  enormous  group  of  most  interesting 
and  important  plants.  Numbering  the  970  species  of 

1  To  illustrate  this  important  relation  between  green  plants  and  the  sun- 
shine ask  a  few  of  the  class  to  sprout  a  number  of  plants  —  potatoes,  beans, 
corn,  squash,  and  peas  —  and  keep  them  for  a  week  in  the  dark.  Then  let 
the  class  watch  them  from  day  to  day  to  see  them  develop  the  green  color 
and  begin  to  grow  as  they  are  exposed  to  the  light.  A  few  may  be  kept  in  the 
dark  by  inclosing  them  in  tubes  of  black  paper  for  still  further  comparison. 


440  NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 

bacteria  with  them,  43,830  different  kinds  are  now  described, 
nearly  one-quarter  of  all  the  plant  species  known  to  science. 
In  size  they  range  from  large  mushrooms  and  giant  puff- 
balls,  of  many  pounds  in  weight,  to  moulds  and  bacteria, 
so  small  that  it  would  require  1 0,000  placed  side  by  side  to 
measure  an  inch,  —  far  too  minute  to  see  with  the  unaided 
eye,  even  as  a  speck  of  dust  on  a  polished  mirror.  The 
prime  characteristic  of  this  large  group  is  absence  of  the 
green  coloring  matter,  chlorophyll,  of  the  higher  plants. 
Lacking  this,  the  fungi  are  unable  to  build  up  living  matter 
from  the  elements  by  the  aid  of  sunlight;  hence,  they 
commonly  grow  in  dark  or  shady  places,  and  they  must 
depend  for  their  food  upon  other  organisms,  animals,  or 
plants,  either  dead  or  alive.  While  we  shall  find  many 
and  beautiful  colors,  the  prevailing  tone  throughout  the 
whole  group  is  white  or  gray.  A  few  of  the  higher 
plants,  notably  Indian  pipe,  pine  sap,  dodder,  have  lost 
more  or  less  of  their  chlorophyll  and,  at  the  same  time, 
have  become  parasitic  upon  other  plants.  Those  fungi 
that  live  upon  dead  matter  are  saprophytes ;  those  that  live 
upon  the  tissues  of  plants  or  animals  to  their  detriment  are 
parasites.  Still  other  species,  especially  bacteria,  subsist 
upon  or  in  living  organisms  with  mutual  benefit  and  are 
called  symbiotes,  i.e.,  "together-livers." 

When  we  inquire  what  this  group  of  plants  does  in  the 
economy  of  nature,  we  must  study  them  in  connection  with 
their  foods,  as  above  specified. 

By  far  the  greater  number  subsist  upon  dead  matter  — 
the  remains  of  animals  and  plants.     Imagine  all  the  trees, 
plants,  and  animals  that  have  died  since  the  world  began, 
whose  bodies  did  not  happen  to  have  been  burned  or  eaten, 


FLOWERLESS    PLANTS 


441 


still  lying  as  they  fell,  and  we  have  a  picture  of  what  nature 
would  be  without  the  beneficent  work  of  fungi ;  that  is, 
they  cause  decay.  They  return  to  Mother  Earth  the  mat- 
ter which  has  lived,  that  it  may  live  again.  Without  them 
all  available  food  in  the  world  would  soon  be  locked  up  in 
dead  forms,  and  new  life  would  be  impossible. 

This  is  a  rather  knotty  point ;  but  it  may  be  attacked  in  a  direct 
and  simple  manner  by  asking  the  children :  "  Where  does  our  food 
come  from  ?  What  is  its  last 
or  ultimate  source  ?  "  They 
will  say:  "It  comes  from 
plants,  wheat,  corn,  fruits, 
vegetables;  and  animals, 
beef,  mutton,  pork,  fish,  fowl, 
,etc."  "  But  where  do  the 
animals  that  we  eat  obtain 
their  food  ?  "  "  It  comes 
from  the  plants  ;  so  that,  in 
the  last  analysis,  the  food  of 
animals,  man  included,  comes 
from  plants,  directly  or  in- 
directly." The  next  question 
is:  "Where,  then,  do  the 
plants  get  their  food?" 
"  With  the  help  of  sunshine 
green  plants  derive  the  food 
with  which  they  build  up 

leaves  and  grains  and  fruits  and  woods  from  the  soluble  materials 
in  the  soil  and  from  the  invisible  matters  in  the  air."  Now  comes  the 
crucial  question  :  "  Can  a  green  plant  grow  in  wood,  or  leaves,  or 
fresh  meat,  z'.^.,  in  the  undecayed  body  of  an  animal  or  plant  ? 
Have  any  of  the  class  ever  seen  a  green  plant,  not  a  parasite, 
growing  in  this  way?" 

The  diagram,  Fig.  178,  will  make  these  relations  plain.     In  their 
elementary  physiology  lessons  the   children  may  have   had  simple 


NITRATES 
FIG.  178.    THE  CIRCLE  OF  PROTEID  FOOD 

MATERIALS 

«,  n,  represents  free  nitrogen  drawn  in 
from  the  air 


442  NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 

discussions  of  the  three  classes  of  foods :  fats  and  oils,  starches  and 
sugars,  and,  most  important  of  all,  proteids,  or  nitrogen-containing 
foods,  such  as  flesh,  the  white  of  egg,  or  the  gluten  or  similar  sub- 
stances of  wheat  and  other  vegetable  foods.  This  is  the  great  essen- 
tial food  for  all  animal  life.  On  no  amount  of  fats  or  sugars  can  any 
animal  sustain  its  life  for  more  than  a  few  days. 

Without  the  help  of  the  fungi  we  might,  with  a  great  deal  of 
labor,  burn  everything  that  died  and  thus  return  the  elements  to  the  air 
•and  to  the  soil ;  but  in  burning  nitrogenous  compounds  we  should  return 
their  nitrogen  to  the  air  along  with  all  the  other  gases,  and  the  green 
plants  are  not  able  to  take  nitrogen  directly  from  the  air.  They 
require  nitrogen  in  some  soluble  form,  as  nitrates  in  the  soil  ;  so  that 
the  burning  of  nitrogenous  compounds  is  a  most  wasteful  process.  In 
fact,  up  to  within  a  few  years  it  used  to  be  said  that  when  a  rifle  is 
fired  a  man  is  killed,  whether  the  bullet  strikes  one  or  not.  This 
was  thought  to  be  true,  because  it  was  supposed  that  in  burning  the 
soluble  nitrate  in  the  powder,  thus  returning  the  nitrogen  to  the  air, 
the  nitrate  could  not  be  recovered  and  that  eventually  some  one 
would  starve  for  the  lack  of  it.  How  certain  bacteria  are  able  to 
take  free  nitrogen  from  the  air,  and  thus  give  food  to  plants  and 
everything  that  lives,  we  shall  discuss  in  the  next  chapter. 

Another  line  along  which  this  may  be  explained  to  the  children  in 
a  practical  way  has  reference  to  their  plant  lessons.  When  the  chil- 
dren were  given  seeds  and  asked  to  see  who  could  rear  the  best 
plant,  many  of  them  immediately  asked :  "  What  will  make  a  plant 
grow  best?  What  can  I  feed  my  plant  to  make  it  grow  fast?" 
The  answer  is  nitrates,  chiefly  of  potassium  and  sodium.  These  are 
the  main  constituents  of  chemical  fertilizers,  now  so  commonly  used. 
No  knowledge  of  chemical  formulas  is  necessary  to  make  this  plain. 
Simply  get  a  little  potassium  nitrate,  let  the  children  see,  handle,  and 
taste  it,  burn  a  little  of  it,  and,  finally,  dissolve  a  teaspoonful  in  a  quart 
of  water  and  treat  a  certain  plant  with  it  once  a  week.  It  would  be 
well  to  have  two  similar  plants  growing  in  two  pots  of  rather  poor 
soil  and  give  this  solution  to  one  and  not  to  the  other,  to  let  the  class 
see  how  it  makes  the  plant  grow.  This  is  a  simple  elementary  les- 
son in  fertilization  of  the  soil  and  will  serve  to  show  the  r61e  that 
nitrates  play  in  plant  growth. 


FLOWERLESS    PLANTS  443 

Thus  we  see  in  a  general  way  that  the  fungi  reduce  dead  nitroge- 
nous matter  to  soluble  plant  food  in  the  soil.  Leaves,  twigs,  and 
wood  decay  to  form  vegetable  mould  and  animal  matters  ;  manures 
and  composts  must  be  thoroughly  rotted  before  they  become  available 
for  plant  foods. 

A  smaller  group  of  fungi  live  as  parasites  upon  or  within  plants 
and  animals,  and  thus  cause  the  majority  of  those  diseases  commonly 
known  as  contagious  or  infectious.  We  should  know  something 
about  these  and  how  they  may  be  controlled,  and  to  this  end  we 
may  describe  a  few  that  commonly  attack  garden  plants  and  trees,  as 
well  as  some  that  are  of  great  importance  in  relation  to  home  and 
school  sanitation. 

Finally,  a  small  group  of  bacteria  are  truly  symbiotic  and  live 
within  the  roots  of  plants,  especially  of  the  clovers  and  peas,  and 
possess  the  power  of  absorbing  nitrogen  from  the  air  and  of  fixing  it 
in  soluble  form  as  food  for  the  plants.  As  with  the  lichen  and  the 
algae,  the  root  supplies  moisture  and  support,  while  the  microbe  manu- 
factures plant  food  in  return.  It  has  long  been  known  that  clover, 
for  example,  enriches  the  soil  in  which  it  grows,  and  this  fact  is  now, 
in  a  measure,  explained. 

The  above  facts  are  given  to  aid  the  teacher  in  planning  the  les- 
sons and  in  appreciating  the  value  of  the  observations  and  experiments 
that  follow. 

Mushrooms.  —  The  best  time  during  the  school  year  to 
study  mushrooms  is  in  the  fall,  after  a  spell  of  wet  weather. 
We  may  begin  by  asking  the  class  how  many  know  mush- 
rooms and  have  found  them  growing  in  the  neighborhood. 
The  children  may  know  them  better  by  the  popular  name 
"toadstools,"  which  is  commonly  used  to  designate  poi- 
sonous or  worthless  mushrooms  ;  but,  since  this  is  not  a 
helpful  term,  we  had  better  make  the  distinction  by  calling 
them  ''poisonous  mushrooms  "  instead.  Possibly  one  of  the 
class  knows  some  one  who  is  raising  mushrooms  and  can 
tell  the  rest  how  it  is  done.  Ask  the  children  each  to  dig 


444  NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 

up  one  or  two  mushrooms,  being  sure  to  get  the  "  roots," 
and  bring  them  to  school  for  the  next  nature-study  period. 
Look  over  the  specimens  and  place  the  amanitas  by 
themselves.  Then  have  the  class  sort  the  others  into  piles 
according  to  their  characteristic  forms  and  structures,  put- 
ting the  puffballs,  the  gill-bearing  kinds,  all  having  tubes, 


FIG.  179.     THE  DEADLY  AMANITA 

The  gills ;  a  button  just  pushing  out  of  the  cup ;  a  mushroom  showing  cap,  or 
pileus,  stem,  and  cup,  or  volva  at  base  of  stem 

and  those  with  fine  pores  underneath,  and  such  as  present 
branching  forms,  the  Clavarias,  each  in  a  pile  by  itself.  We 
thus  see  that  there  are  marked  and  interesting  differences 
in  form  and  structure. 

To  understand  the  growth  of  these  strange  plants  have 
some  of  the  children  carefully  wash  the  earth  away  from 


FLOWERLESS    PLANTS  445 

the  base  of  the  stem,  selecting  specimens  with  a  large  ball 
of  earth.  They  should  find  an  irregular  mass  of  white 
threads,  some  of  them  running  into  the  bottom  of  the  stem. 
They  may  also  find  among  these  threads  "buttons"  of 
various  sizes.  These  are  young  mushrooms  that  will  grow 
larger  and  finally  push  their  way  up  into  the  air,  —  for  what 
purpose  we  shall  see  in  a  moment.  Have  the  class  com- 
pare their  specimens  and  try  to  find  a  series  from  the 
smallest  "button"  to  a  full-grown  mushroom.  Do  any  in 
the  class  know  what  relation  the  white  threads  bear  to  the 
mushrooms?  While  not  conspicuous  these  are  really  the 
main  part  of  the  plant.  They  are  called  the  "mycelium"  of 
the  mushroom.  This  mycelium  may  grow  for  months  or 
even  years,  sending  thread  after  thread  in  every  direction 
through  the  soil  or  through  the  wood  of  a  tree,  absorbing 
food  and  increasing  in  size.  It  is  thus  the  vegetative  or 
nutritive  part  of  the  plant.  We  shall  find  something 
similar  when  we  study  the  moulds.  When  the  proper  con- 
ditions arrive,  generally  after  heavy  rains  (for  mushrooms 
are  almost  all  water),  the  "buttons"  enlarge  and  push  up 
through  the  surface,  often  in  a  night.  Fig.  179  will  serve 
to  explain  the  conspicuous  parts  of  a  mushroom  —  stem, 
cap  or  pileus,  gills  or  spore-bearing  structures.  Emphasize 
the  fact  that  the  mushrooms  that  we  ordinarily  see  are  only 
the  spore-bearing,  or  reproductive,  part  of  the  plant.  They 
are  pushed  up  into  the  air  by  the  mass  of  the  mycelium,  in 
order  that  the  spores  may  be  carried  in  every  direction  by 
the  winds. 

Let  us  next  ask  the  children  to  study  the  sporing  of 
their  mushrooms.  From  any  large  specimen  the  spores 
are  probably  being  shed,  from  between  the  gills  or  from 


446  NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 

within  the  tubes  or  pores,  in  a  constant  shower ;  but  they 
are  far  too  small  to  see.  Cut  off  the  stem  close  to  the 
gills  and  lay  the  mushroom,  gills  down,  on  a  piece  of  paper 
and  cover  it  with  a  glass  so  tight  that  not  the  slightest 
current  of  air  can  enter.  The  spores  will  then  fall  straight 
clown  and  draw  a  picture  of  the  under  surface  of  the  mush- 
room. We  make,  in  other  words,  a  "spore  print."  A  few 


FIG.  180.    THE  DEADLY  AMANITA 
Spore  print 

of  these  will  greatly  aid  the  children  in  forming  clear  ideas 
about  spores  as  we  have  found  them  in  the  ferns  and  mosses 
and  are  soon  to  study  them  in  the  moulds  and  bacteria. 
The  spore  dust  of  a  ripe  puff  ball  should  also  be  studied  in 
this  connection.  The  important  fact  to  be  brought  out  is 
that  spores  are  so  small  that  they  become  invisible  as  they 
disperse  in  the  air  and  are  so  light  that  they  are  readily 


FLOWERLESS    PLANTS  447 

carried  by  air  currents.  Thus  they  form  a  constituent  of 
dust.  If  the  gills  or  tubes  of  a  mushroom  are  dark  colored, 
we  will  make  the  spore  print  on  white  paper,  if  white,  on 
black  paper,  and  if  we  care  to  keep  the  spore  prints,  we 
will  use  paper  over  which  a  thin  coating  of  mucilage  has 
been  laid.  This  may  be  allowed  to  dry,  as  the  moisture 
in  the  spores  will  cause  them  to  stick  to  it. 

The  food  value  of  mushrooms  has  been  exaggerated  by 
popular  writers.  Chemical  analyses  have  shown  that  they 
are  about  as  nutritious  as  cabbage.  Rated  at  twenty-five 
cents  a  pound,  which  is  from  one-fourth  to  one-tenth  the 
usual  price,  they  cost  about  ten  times  as  much  for  actual 
nutrition  obtained  as  beef  at  fifteen  cents  per  pound  and 
124  times  as  much  as  wheat  flour  at  two  and  one-half 
cents  a  pound.  However,  they  afford  variety;  a  few  species 
are  said  to  be  "delicious,"  and  a  very  few  are  poisonous. 
As  a  people  we  are  behind  most  European  nations  in 
knowledge  of  mushrooms  and,  hence,  in  ability  to  utilize 
them  for  food.  The  main  reason  for  introducing  their 
study  into  nature-study  courses  is  to  give  definite  instruc- 
tion, first,  about  the  few  poisonous  species  and,  second,  to 
point  out  a  number  of  the  more  valuable  kinds  that  now 
go  to  waste  in  large  quantities  in  our  woods  and  pastures 
and  even  city  lawns  and  gardens.  To  do  this  adequately 
would  require  a  bock,  but  a  few  points  of  general  impor- 
tance may  be  given  in  connection  with  the  following  partial 
outline  of  their  classification. 

Since  the  conspicuous  part  of  a  mushroom  is  a  mechanism 
for  producing  and  disseminating  the  spores,  they  are  natu- 
rally classified  by  the  position  and  form  of  the  spore-bearing 
surfaces  or  parts. 


448 


NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 


Puffballs,  Lycoperdacece,  —  Puffballs  have  a  rind  or  wall 
and  produce  their  spores  within  a  closed  cavity.  When  the 
spores  are  ripe  the  wall  ruptures,  and  off  they  go  with  every 
puff  of  wind  in  the  well-known  clouds  of  dust.  No  puff- 
ball,  so  far  as  known,  is  poisonous  if  taken  while  the  flesh 
is  perfectly  white,  but  some  caution  must  be  observed  not 


to  mistake  for  a  puffball 
a  "button"  or  "egg" 
of  some  other  kind  of 
fungus.  FlfV82- 

A  CORAL  MUSHROOM 
Coral  Mushrooms,  or  Cla- 

varias,  Clavariacecz.  —  These  grow  either 
in  the  form  of  single  clubs  or  many- 
branched  masses.  The  spores  are  shed 
from  the  entire  surface  of  the  branches. 
So  far  as  is  known,  all  the  clavarias  that 
are  of  any  size  are  edible. 

Morels,  Cup  Fungi,  Discomycetes.  —  These  have  a  stem 
and  cap,  but  unlike  most  mushrooms  the  spores  are  borne 
in  pits  distributed  over  the  convex  surface.  They,  appear 
early  in  the  season,  May  and  June,  are  generally  free  from 
insects,  and  may  be  dried  for  future  use ;  all  the  common 
species  are  edible.  A  morel  may  be  recognized  by  its  resem- 
blance to  Fig.  183,  which  is  More  he  I  la  conica.  Morchella 


FIG.  183.    A  MOREL 


FLOWERLESS    PLANTS 


449 


esculent  a,  the  esculent  morel,  has  an  oblong  or  egg-shaped 
cap,  and  in  M.  deliciosa,  the  "  delicious  "  morel,  the  cap  is 
nearly  cylindrical. 

Stinkhorn  Mushrooms,  Phalloidece.  —  These  might  be 
omitted,  did  they  not  too  often  force  themselves  upon  our 
attention.  Their  vile  odors,  suggestive  of  decaying  animal 
matter  or  escaping  sewer  gas,  strike  consternation  to  the 
householder,  and  he  is  likely  to  begin  a  vain,  because  mis- 
directed, search  for  the  cause  of  offense.  The  odor  prob- 
ably serves  the  plant  by  attracting 
insects,  which  in  return  for  their 
feast  disseminate  its  spores.  While 
there  are  several  kinds,  differing  in 
color  and  somewhat  in  structure 
and  form,  the  general  appearance  of 
the  plant  as  shown  in  Fig.  184  will 
be  sufficient  to  classify  any  specimen 
that  may  be  brought  in.  The  stink- 
horns  are  not  given  in  the  books  as 
poisonous ;  in  fact,  most  of  them  have 
the  reputation  of  being  " edible"  if 
taken  in  the  egg  stage.  The  most 
frequent  question  about  them,  however,  relates  not  to  their 
edibleness,  but  rather  to  methods  by  which  they  may  be 
exterminated.  They  are  apt  to  grow  about  rotting  wood  in 
damp  places,  and  since  we  know  that  the  main  portion  of 
the  plant,  the  mycelium,  consists  of  a  mass  of  fine  threads 
beneath  the  surface  it  will  probably  be  necessary  only  to 
scrape  up  and  clear  away  any  decaying  wood  and  possibly 
turn  over  the  soil  to  a  depth  of  a  foot  effectually  to  rid  the 
place  of  the  nuisance. 


FIG.  184.     STINKHORN 
MUSHROOM  AND  EGGS 


450  NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 

Trembling  Mushrooms,  Tremellinece. — These  strange  fungi 
derive  their  name  from  their  gelatinous  consistency.  The 
spores  are  borne  over  the  entire  surface.  They  occur 
generally  on  decaying  twigs  or  wood,  drying  up  so  as  to 
•be  scarcely  distinguishable  and  swelling  again  when  wet. 
Little  or  no  food  value  attaches  to  the  group,  but  none 
have  been  reported  as  poisonous. 

Agarics,  Agaricacece.  —  Any  mushroom  having  the  spore- 
bearing  surface  arranged  in  folds  or  gills  radiating  from 
the  stem,  or  from  the  point  of  attachment  "when  no  stem 
is  present,  is  an  agaric.  Possibly  the  chief  reason  for 
introducing  the  study  of  mushrooms  .into  elementary 
courses  is  to  enable  the  pupils  to  distinguish  certain 
extremely  poisonous  plants  of  this  group,  the  amanitas. 
The  distinguishing  features  of  Amanita  phalloides,  our 
most  deadly  species,  are  sufficiently  well  indicated  in  Fig. 
179 ;  but  the  way  to  teach  them  is  to  have  the  specimens 
brought  in  wherever  this  is  possible.  Amanita  verna, 
appropriately  called  the  "destroying  angel,"  so  closely 
resembles  A.  phalloides  that  it  may  be  considered,  for  ele- 
mentary purposes,  a  white  variety  of  it.  A.  muscaria,  the 
fly  agaric,  is  generally  larger  than  A.  phalloides  and  differs 
from  it  in  having  the  cap  bright  yellow,  varying  to  orange 
and  even  red.  Crumbled  into  a  saucer  of  sweetened  water, 
it  serves  as  an  effective  fly  poison,  whence  its  name.  The 
gills  are  white,  rarely  yellowish,  and  the  cap  is  typically 
dotted  over  with  whitish  flocks  or  scales  formed  from  the 
part  of  the  volva  that  clings  to  the  cap  as  it  expands. 
These  may  dry  up  and  blow  off  and  hence  be  absent  from 
old  specimens  —  a  fact  that  should  be  borne  in  mind  if  we 
are  to  make  the  acquaintance  of  A.  ccesaria. 


FLOWERLESS    PLANTS 


451 


Two  or  three  amanitas  are  edible,  notably  A.  rubescens 
and  A.  ctzsaria,  but  the  variations  in  size,  color,  and  other 
characteristics  that  occur,  as  they  grow  under  different 
conditions  of  soil  and  weather,  are  so  great,  and  their  resem- 
blance to  the  poisonous  species  so  close,  that  we  must  pass 
them  over  to  the  specialists. 

A.  rubescens  is  dingy  red,  and  the  flesh  quickly  turns  red  when 
broken.  The  gills  are  white,  and  there  is  scarcely  any  trace  of  a  cup 
at  the  base  of  the  stem,  since  nearly  the  whole  of  the  volva  is  carried  up 
and  remains  as  warts  scattered  over  the  cap.  A.  ccesaria,  the  imperial 
agaric,  cibus  deorum,  reddish  or  orange 
fading  to  yellow  with  age,  is  one  of  the 
most  beautiful  and  "  delicious  "  of  mush- 
rooms. While  its  cap  resembles  some- 
what A.  muscaria  in  color,  it  rarely  has 
any  flocks  from  the  volva  on  it,  and  the 
gills  are  bright  yellow. 


FIG.  185.    COMMON  MEADOW 
MUSHROOM 


From  Figs.  179  and  iSo.we  see 
the  general  characteristics  of  this 
group  of  deadly  plants.  No  one 
infallible  rule  or  test  can  be  given 
to  distinguish  an  edible  from  a 
poisonous  agaric ;  but  the  death 
cup  or  a  scaly  bulbous  stem,  the  veil 

or  annulus,  and  the  white  spores,  taken  together,  indicate 
that  a  specimen  belongs  to  the  amanita  family  and  must 
be  avoided.  These  poisonous  mushrooms  are  common  in 
the  woods  but  occur  on  open  meadows  or  lawns.  The 
common  meadow  mushroom,  Agaricus  campestris,  the  spe- 
cies raised  for  markets,  has  brown  spores,  flesh-colored  to 
dark-brown  gills,  and,  since  it  is  not  inclosed  in  a  volva  or 
sac  in  its  early  stages,  it  has  no  cup  at  base  of  stem  or 


452  NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 

warts  on  the  cap,  but  has  a  well-marked  veil  on  the  stem. 
It  grows  in  open  meadows  and  pastures,  though  species 
much  like  it  are  found  in  woods. 

This  is  considered  far  enough  for  elementary  pupils  to  go  in  the 
classification  of  the  agarics.  Still,  many  others  are  likely  to  be  brought 
in,  and  it  may  be  helpful,  rather  than  otherwise,  to  distinguish  a  few 
of  the  more  prominent  groups. 

The  shaggy  inane  and  ink  cap,  of  the  genus  Coprinus1  are  com- 
mon about  rich  lawns  and  barnyards  after  wet  weather.  The  spores 
are  black,  and  the  gills  turn  black  and  liquefy  as  the  plant  reaches 
maturity.  The  black  fluid  thus  formed,  mixed  with  the  spores,  falls  in 
inky  drops  from  the  cap.  If  taken  before  the  gills  turn  black,  they 
are  edible. 

The  milky  mushrooms,  of  the  genus  Lactarius,  form  an  interest- 
ing group,  easily  distinguished  by  the  milky,  or  colored,  juice  which 
exudes  from  any  part  of  the  plant  when  it  is  broken.  The  juice  of 
these  mushrooms  may  be  tasted  if  care  is  taken  not  to  swallow  any 
of  it,  and  those  that  are  not  bitter  or  peppery  may  be  considered 
edible. 

The  Russitlas  (Lat.  russust  "  red  ")  are  the  brilliantly  colored  mush- 
rooms—  red,  pink,  purple,  blue,  green,  and  yellow  —  that  enliven  the 
woods  of  summer  and  early  fall.  In  form  and  fragile  structure  they 
resemble  the  milky  mushrooms,  but  none  of  them  exude  any  milky 
juice  when  wounded.  One  of  them,  R.  emetica,  is  rated  as  poisonous 
by  most  authors,  but  its  acrid  taste  is  sufficient  to  prevent  a  person 
from  eating  enough  to  do  serious  harm.  In  color  it  passes  from  rose, 
when  young,  to  blood  red  and  finally  to  tawny  or  yellow  when  old. 
Other  species  of  russulas  which  have  a  mild  and  agreeable  flavor 
are  considered  edible. 

Pore-  or  Tube-Bearing  Mushrooms,  Polypomcece.  —  Numbers 
of  mushrooms  will  probably  be  brought  in  which  resemble 
the  agarics  in  form  but,  instead  of  gills,  have  innumerable 
tubes  or  pores,  from  which  the  spores  are  dropped.  Most 
of  these,  except  the  Boleti,  grow  upon  wood,  stumps,  and 


FLOWERLESS    PLANTS 


453 


trees,  both  dead  and  alive,  and  many  are  directly  respon- 
sible for  the  death  of  trees  upon  which  they  are  found. 

Boleti.  If  the  mushroom  is  soft,  not  woody, 
and  has  tubes  easily  separable  from  the  rest  of 
the  cap,  it  belongs  to  the  genus  Boletus.  Several 
Boleti  are  pronounced  edible,  but,  as  with  the 
amanitas,  taste  is  not  a  safeguard  against  the 
poisonous  kinds.  Satan's  Boletus,  B.  satanus, 
B.  luridus,  B.  alveolatus,  and  other  allied  species 
are  set  down  in  most  of  the  books  as  poisonous. 
Mcllvaine  pronounces  them  "remarkably  fine 
eating."  B.  satanus  is  a  large  mushroom,  three  FIG.  186.  A  BOLETUS 
to  eight  inches  in  diameter,  brownish  yellow  to 
dull  white  in  color.  The  tubes  are  yellow,  except  at  their  mouths, 
which  are  bright  red.  The  stem  is  thick  and  swollen  and  is  marked 
with  red  reticulations  near  the  cap.  The  flesh  is  whitish  but  changes 
to  reddish  or  violet  when  wounded.  B.  luridus  is  similar,  but  smaller, 
two  to  four  inches  broad,  brownish  olive  above,  and  the  flesh  turns 
blue  when  broken. 

Fistulina.  If  the  tubes  hang  separate,  i.e.,  are  not  cemented 
together  in  a  mass,  the  mushroom  is  a  Fistulina.  The  common  spe- 
cies is  F.  hepatica,  the  beef  tongue,  or  beefsteak  fungus,  which 
grows  sometimes  in  huge  masses  on  oak  and  chestnut  stumps.  Its 
color  is  red,  variegated  above  and  streaked  in  lines  of  growth. 
Below,  the  spore  surface  is  pale,  tinged  with 
yellow  or  pink.  The  beefsteak  mushroom  is 
certainly  not  poisonous,  and  some  consider  it 
edible  in  spite  of  its  marked  acidity. 

Polypori.     If  the  tubes  cling  together,  are 
inseparable  from  the  cap,  and  the  plant  becomes 
woody   or   corky    with    age,   it    is    probably  a 
FIG.  187.   APOLYPORUS,  Polyporus.     These    are  the    "bracket   fungi," 

BRAROOM  MUSH~      "Punks>"  and  "conchs"  often  found  growing 
upon  trees.     A  few  Polypori  are  "  edible,"  after 

a  fashion,  when  young  and  tender,  but  the  chief  reason  for  studying 
them  relates  to  their  injury  of  trees.     Have  the  class  examine  the 


454  NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 

trees  in  the  neighborhood  and  report  the  number  attacked  by  these 
fungous  growths.  Can  the  children  discover  how  the  fungus  gains 
access  to  the  wood?  They  may  find  some  broken  limb  or  some 
place  where  the  bark  has  been  injured,  to  account  for  the  infection. 
With  shade  and  garden  trees  all  wounds  should  be  painted  over  as 
soon  as  made,  to  protect  the  trees  from  the  spores  of  fungi.  In  gen- 
eral, decaying  wood,  stumps,  branches,  or  trees  upon  which  these 
fungi  have  begun  to  grow  should  be  cut  and  burned,  to  prevent 
infection  of  healthy  trees.  Any  piece  of  rotten  wood  will  show 
how  the  fungous  growth  affects  the  tree.  Seek  for  pieces  that  con- 
tain plainly  visible  mycelium,  white  threads,  permeating  the  wood. 
These,  as  with  mushrooms  that  grow  on  the  ground,  form  the  nutri- 
tive part  of  the  plant,  absorbing  certain  elements  from  the  wood 

cells,  thus  causing  them  to  soften  and  crumble. 

At  certain  seasons  the  spore-forming  portion  is 

pushed  out  into  the  air. 

Spine-Bearing  or  Hedgehog  Mushrooms, 
Hydnacece.  —  If  a  mushroom,  instead  of 
gills  or  tubes,  has  spines  that  point 
toward  the  earth,  it  may  be  called  by 
^ther  of  the  above  names,  or,  botanic- 
ally,  it  is  a  Hydnum.  The  class  contains 
most  variant  forms.  Some  are  umbrella  shaped  with  central 
stems,  others  grow  on  wood  and  may  form  a  mere  flattened 
layer  closely  attached  to  it,  while  others  may  develop  shelf 
or  bracket  forms,  like  many  of  the  Polypori.  Other  species 
grow  in  branching  forms,  like  the  coral  mushrooms,  but 
are  distinguished  from  them  by  the  fact  that  the  teeth  or 
spines  always  point  earthward  instead  of  upward.  Several 
common  species  are  said  to  be  edible,  and  no  Hydnum 
described  in  the  books  is  stated  to  be  poisonous. 

I  have  endeavored  to  give  a  few  suggestions  that  may 
form  an  introduction  for  a  child  to  a  large,  interesting,  and 


FLOWERLESS    PLANTS  455 

important  group  of  plants.  It  has  been  done  with  the 
purpose  of  preventing  accidents  from  mushroom  poisoning, 
and  at  the  same  time  of  opening  the  way  toward  a  study  of 
fungi  that  may  lead  to  better  utilization  of  the  valuable 
kinds.  In  any  favorable  locality  a  continued  search  would 
probably  be  rewarded  by  finding  at  least  five  or  six  hundred 
different  species  of  mushrooms.  It  is  not  strange  that  a 
few  out  of  this  number  should  be  poisonous.  If  we  are  to 
use  mushrooms,  we  should  know  them  as  we  know  apples 
and  potatoes.  They  are  fragile  and  plastic,  vary  under 
differing  conditions,  change  color  with  age,  etc.,  so  that 
to  know  a  species  means  ability  to  recognize  it  in  all  its 
different  guises,  and  this  is  no  slight  task.  Take  one  at 
a  time  is  a  good  rule,  and  be  sure  you  know  it  whenever 
and  wherever  met  with.  Soon  you  will  have  become 
acquainted  with  a  group  of  interesting  friends  and  acquaint- 
ances and  fascinating  enemies. 

The  way  mushrooms  have  been  tested  to  ascertain  whether  they  are 
edible  has  been  described  somewhat  as  follows  :  Take  a  bit  of  the  fresh 
mushroom  the  size  of  a  pea,  chew  it  and  hold  in  the  mouth  for  a  minute 
or  two,  reject,  wait  twenty -four  hours  and  note  whether  any  bad  effects 
supervene.  If  not,  chew  another  bit  of  a  perfectly  fresh  specimen  the 
size  of  a  pea  and  swallow.  Wait  a  day  and  note  effects. 

Mushrooms  often  change  their  flavors  on  being  cooked.  If  no 
bad  effects  have  been  produced  thus  far,  cook  and  eat  a  small  piece. 
Do  not  season,  so  that  you  may  be  able  to  describe  the  flavor  accu- 
rately. If  the  tests  indicate  that  the  species  may  prove  a  valuable 
addition  to  the  common  dietary,  gradually  increase  the  amount  eaten 
until  thoroughly  convinced  that  it  is  wholesome.  The  final  step  in 
the  procedure  is  to  try  the  mushroom  on  your  friends. 

I  give  these  directions  with  the  view  not  of  encouraging  people 
to  begin  testing  mushrooms  promiscuously,  but  rather  of  preventing 
accidents  from  careless  or  ignorant  testing. 


456  NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 

When  we  come  to  know  them  as  well  as  we  do  the 
common  nuts  and  wild  berries  and  fruits  of  the  fields  and 
woods,  mushrooms  will  add  spice,  interest,  and  variety  to 
every  walk,  excursion,  hunt,  or  camping  trip.  But  a  few 
general  precautions  should  be  added,  and  those  already 
given  may  be  briefly  summarized. 

1.  Never  be  tempted  into  eating  a  mushroom  in  the 
"  button  "  stage,  especially  one  found  in  the  woods.     At 
this  time  the  marks  by  which  the    different  species  are 
distinguished  are  not  developed.      Many  accidents  have 
happened  from  disregard  of  this  sensible  precaution. 

2.  Reject    all    mushrooms    that   show   signs   of   decay. 
Any  food  may  become  unwholesome  or  even  poisonous  if 
tainted.     All  specimens  infested  by  insects  should  also  be 
discarded. 

3.  Reject  all  mushrooms  that  have  a  cup  or  sac  or  scaly 
bulb  at  base  of  stem,  a  veil  or  annul  us,  and  white  spores. 
These  three  characters  combined    point  infallibly  to  the 
deadly  amanitas  ;  but,  at  first,  reject  all  that  show  any  trace 
of  a  cup  and   use   extreme   caution   in  dealing  with  any 
members  of  this  group. 

The  statement  of  Dr.  George  Francis  with  regard  to  all 
other  mushrooms  is :  "  Being  certain  that  you  have  no 
amanitas,  it  is  not  unsafe  to  make  cautious  trial  of  any 
species  whose  raw  taste  is  not  objectionable." 


CHAPTER    XXVII 

FLOWERLESS    PLANTS  (Continued} 

MOULDS,   MILDEWS,  YEAST,  BACTERIA 

IF  we  have  studied  the  mushrooms  and  have  seen 
the  mycelium,  it  will  be  an  easy  step  to  understand  the 
moulds,  and  from  these,  through  the  familiar  yeast  plant, 
we  may  pass  to  the  study  of  the  bacteria.  We  shall  not 
have  far  to  seek  for  specimens  of  moulds  and  mildews. 
We  may  find  them  too  often  on  plants  and  trees  that  we 
are  trying  to  rear.  After  a  period  of  wet  weather  they 
may  cover  the  books  on  our  shelves,  the  clothes  in  our 
closets,  —  not  to  speak  of  the  eternal  vigilance  necessary 
to  prevent  them  from  appropriating  any  food  that  is  not 
sealed  against  their  attacks.  While  many  may  be  inclined 
to  consider  them  too  minute  for  elementary  lessons,  in 
the  mass  they  are  easily  seen,  and  their  relation  to  proper 
sanitation  of  the  home  and  to  fungous  diseases  of  plants 
makes  them  an  essential  part  of  the  plan  for  nature  study. 
As  a  whole,  too,  the  group  plays  a  necessary  and  benefi- 
cent role  in  nature. 

Moulds.  —  A  jelly  glass,  or  even  a  medicine  vial,  furnishes 
ample  room  for  a  garden  of  these  instructive  plants,  and 
they  may  be  cultivated  on  almost  anything  for  soil.  First 
we  will  take  some  kind  of  liquid  culture  medium  in  which 
we  can  see  all  the  different  parts  of  the  mould  plant  as  it 

457 


458 


NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 


grows.  Fruit  juice  as  it  comes  from  preserves,  —  as  clear 
and  colorless  as  possible,  —  diluted  one-half  and  filtered 
or  strained  through  fine  cheese  cloth,  makes  an  ideal 
medium.  Fill  the  vial  or  glass  half  full  and  sprinkle  a 
little  dust  from  the  schoolroom  over  the  surface.  Cover 
and  set  aside  to  observe  from  day  to  day.  Three  such 
cultures  should  be  made,  one  of  which  should  be  kept  in 
a  dark  place,  one  in  a  room  where  direct  sunlight  does 

not  fall  upon  it,  and  the 
third  should  be  kept  in 
the  sunshine  as  much 
of  the  time  as  possible. 
It  would  be  better  if 
each  of  the  pupils  had 
a  vial  and  one-third 
kept  theirs  in  the  dark, 
another  third,  on  their 
desks,  in  the  shade,  and 
the  other  third,  in  the 
sunshine.  Then  let 
them  compare  notes 

FIG.  189.     MOULD  GARDENS  .  . 

_,.       during  the  nature-study 

The  liquid  culture  is  seen  at  the  right.     The  <     » 

others  show  arrangement  for  solid  cultures.   A  period  and  decide  Under 

litth  water  is  put  in  to  keep  the  air  moist,  and  what  conditionS  moulds 
the  material  is  supported  on  a  piece  of  glass 

grow  best.      Let  them 

vary  the  experiment  to  see  if  they  can  discover  conditions 
under  which  moulds  are  unable  to  grow  at  all.  Experi- 
ment by  leaving  the  dust  in  the  bright  sunshine  for  one, 
two,  or  three  days  before  planting  it  in  the  fruit  juice. 
It  should  be  kept  in  a  dry  vial  stoppered  with  a  plug  of 
cotton  batting.  But  before  we  can  go  further  with  this 


FLOWERLESS    PLANTS  459 

experiment  we  must  be  sure  that  we  have  killed  all  the 
germs  that  may  be  in  the  culture  medium.  Can  any  of 
the  children  suggest  a  way  to  do  this  ?  How  is  it  done 
in  their  homes  in  the  canning  of  fruit  ? 

A  convenient  way  is  to  plug  the  bottles  with  a  wad  of  cotton 
batting  and  let  them  stand  in  a  tightly  covered  steamer  over  boiling 
water  for  half  an  hour.  This  kills  growing  mould  plants  and  bac- 
teria, but  not  all  the  spores  that  may  be  present  in  the  liquid.  The 
heat  will  be  likely  to  start  any  such  spores  into  growth,  so  that  if  they 
are  steamed  again  on  the  following  day,  or  before  the  spores  have 
had  time  to  germinate  and  form  spores  again,  we  may  be  reasonably 
sure  that  no  germ  remains  alive  in  our  cultures.  Two  or  three  of 
these  vials  should  be  set  aside  to  compare  with  others  that  are 
planted  with  dust  or  with  the  spores  of  different  moulds  ;  and,  if  all 
the  germs  have  been  killed  and  the  cotton  is  not  removed,  the  cul- 
tures will  remain  clear,  and  no  growth  of  any  kind  will  appear  in 
them.  This  is  known  as  "  sterilizing."  With  a  number  of  the  cul- 
tures thus  sterilized  we  may  plant  them  with  dust  or  the  spores  of  any 
mould  we  wish  to  study.  To  do  this,  pick  up  a  little  of  the  dust  or 
spores  with  the  point  of  a  clean  needle  and  apply  to  the  culture. 

After  a  clay  or  two,  if  there  are  any  mould  spores  in 
the  cultures,  we  should  see  a  fine  woolly  growth  spreading 
over  the  surface  and  sending  its  delicate  threads  down 
into  the  liquid.  This  is  the  mycelium,  and  the  threads 
are  known  as  hyphae.  The  function  of  the  mycelium,  as 
in  the  mushrooms,  is  to  absorb  nutriment.  Next  we 
observe  that  a  number  of  the  hyphae  near  the  center  of 
the  mycelium  are  growing  up  into  the  air,  and  the  forms 
they  assume  are  characteristic  of  different  species  of 
mould.  Four  of  these  typical  forms  are  shown  in  Fig.  190, 
but  it  is  not  intended  to  go  farther  into  any  details  that 
require  the  use  of  the  microscope.  A  number  of  the 
larger  moulds,  however,  have  fruiting  hyphae  an  inch  or 


460 


NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 


two  in  length,  on  the  tips  of  which  the  beadlike  spore 
cases  are  plainly  visible  to  the  naked  eye. 

We  may  next  have  the  pupils  substitute  for  the  culture 
medium  in  their  bottles  various  solid  materials  —  bread, 
potatoes  and  other  vegetables,  meats,  and  a  variety  of  dif- 
ferent fruits.  Each  pupil  may  provide  a  different  mate- 
rial, and  in  this  way  the  class  will  gain  a  notion  of  how 
omnivorous  the  moulds  are. 

An  experiment  that  must  not  be  omitted  consists  in 
inoculating  a  number  of  different  fruits  with  mould  spores, 


FIG.  190.     DIFFERENT  KINDS  OF  MOULD 
a,  milk  mould;  b,  blue  mould;  c,  black  mould;  d,  white  mould 

to  observe  the  process  of  decay.  Here  again  the  children 
may  take  different  fruits  for  variety's  sake  —  some  apples, 
some  pears,  others  plums,  peaches,  grapes,  each  child 
taking  different  varieties  so  far  as  practicable.  We  will 
suppose  that  the  pupils  have  each  three  fruits  of  the 
desired  variety.  Having  cautioned  them  to  secure  per- 
fect specimens  with  stems  attached  and  no  breaks  of  the 
skin,  let  them  each  put  one  fruit  aside,  perfect ;  let  them 


FLOWERLESS    PLANTS  461 

make  a  single  puncture  with  a  pin  in  the  second  and 
rub  in  some  mould  spores  or  a  little  dust  ;  put  this  away 
with  the  first ;  and  let  them  puncture  the  third,  but, 
instead  of  inoculating  it,  let  them  leave  it,  puncture  side 
up,  exposed  to  the  air  on  their  desks.  They  may  vary  the 
experiment  still  further  by  having  different  pupils  use  for 
their  inoculations  a  number  of  the  moulds  described 
below.  This  experiment  coordinates  itself  with  practical 
fruit  culture  and  the  need  of  "  hand  picking  "  of  choice 
fruit.  It  also  carries  a  larger  lesson  related  to  intelligent 
cleanliness  in  care  of  the  skin  and  treatment  of  scratches, 
cuts,  and  bruises,  since  in  this  function  of  protection  the 
skin  of  an  apple  and  that  of  a  child  are  much  alike. 

Our  experiments  and  observations  cannot  go  far  before 
we  see  that  there  are  many  different  kinds  of  moulds. 
We  notice,  first,  that  while  the  mycelia  of  all  appear  much 
alike  to  the  naked  eye  (generally  white,  like  cotton  bat- 
ting), the  spores  are  of  different  colors ;  and  these  may 
serve  as  a  basis  for  elementary  classification. 

Blue  Mould,  Penicilliumglaucum*  —  This  is  the  commonest  mould 
we  have,  and  its  blue  velvety  growths  over  bread  and  all  sorts  of  foods 
and  on  the  leather  of  shoes  and  gloves  have  made  it  only  too  familiar 
to  all.  Its  manner  of  spore  formation  is  shown  in  Fig.  190,  b. 

Black  Mould,  Aspergillus  niger.  —  This  is  another  common  house- 
hold form  on  bread,  vegetables,  and  fruits. 

White  Mould,  Mucor  mttcedo.  —  The  white  moulds  are  especially 
good  for  elementary  lessons  on  account  of  their  comparatively  large 
size.  They  grow  on  all  kinds  of  food,  and  after  covering  the  mass 
with  a  white  cottony  mycelium  they  send  up  fruiting  hyphae,  often 
one  or  two  inches  in  height,  which  terminate  in  little  black  beads 
—  miniature  puffballs  —  in  which  the  spores  are  produced.  These 
are  seen,  enlarged  in  Fig.  190,^,  and  natural  size  in  the  "mould 
gardens"  in  Fig.  189. 


462  NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 

Mildews,  or  Moulds  of  the  Garden.  —  The  moulds  that  attack 
plants  are  commonly  known  as  mildews,  rusts,  blights,  or 
smuts.  The  number  of  these  minute  parasitic  fungi  is 
legion,  and  as  a  group  they  rank  with  destructive  insects 
in  rendering  the  raising  of  flowers  and  fruits  difficult  and 
interesting.  We  can  introduce  into  the  course  only  a 
few  of  the  more  important,  such  as  are  most  closely  asso- 
ciated with  the  children's  garden  studies.  They  may  be 
considered  as  types  to  indicate  methods  of  study  that  can 
be  applied  to  many  other  kinds.  The  methods  of  uni- 
versal application,  for  preventing  fungous  diseases  of 
plants,  relate  to  intelligent  cleanliness  of  garden  and 
premises  (the  burning  of  rubbish  and  dead  leaves  that 
may  harbor  the  spores)  and  to  so  planting  and  pruning 
as  to  admit  sunlight  and  air  to  every  part  of  the  plant. 
For  recent  information  about  more  special  methods  we 
should  send  to  our  State  Experiment  Station  for  the 
latest  Spray-Calendar. 

The  Black  Knot,  Ploivrightia  nwrbosa.  —  Request  the  children  to 
search  their  plum  and  cherry  trees,  bring  in  specimens,  and  report 
the  distribution  and  prevalence  of  this  fungus  in  the  neighborhood. 
The  summer  crop  of  spores  is  produced  in  June.  The  knot  at  this 
time  is  greenish  brown  and  velvety.  The  winter  spores  are  produced 
in  capsules  in  the  black  mass.  From  about  December  and  for  the 
rest  of  the  winter  these  capsules  are  perforated  and  the  spores  are 
shaken  out  by  every  puff  of  wind,  like  pepper  out  of  a  pepper  box. 
The  spores  that  happen  to  lodge  behind  a  bud  or  in  a  crotch  or 
crevice  send  their  mycelial  threads  into  the  living  wood,  where  they 
multiply  greatly  and  thus  cause  the  swelling  or  knot.  Finally,  they 
send  fruiting  hyphas  to  the  surface,  and  the  life  story  is  repeated. 
A  single  knot  is  thus  a  menace  to  an  orchard  or  neighborhood ;  one 
should  never  be  permitted  to  develop  spores,  but  should  be  cut  off 
and  burned  as  soon  as  any  swelling  appears. 


FLOWERLESS    PLANTS 


463 


The  Brown  Rot,  Monilia  fructigena.  —  Plum,  cherry,  and  peach 
trees  are  often  stripped  of  their  entire  crop  by  this  destructive  fungus. 
It  probably  consumes  more  of  these  fruits  than  all  the  boys  and  girls 
in  the  country.  The  class  should  study  its  prevalence  and  distribu- 
tion in  the  neighborhood  along  with  that  of  the  black  knot.  It  is 
characteristic  of  this 
fungus  that  affected 
fruits  cling  to  the 
branch  over  winter, 
often  cemented  to- 
gether in  clusters. 
In  this  condition 
they  are  said  to  be 
"mummied"  (see 
Fig.  192).  The  life 
story  of  the  brown 
rot  is  like  that  of  all 
moulds:  a  spore 
lodges  on  a  fruit, 
germinates  and  fills 
the  fruit  with  its 
mycelium,  and  the 
fruiting  hyphae  grow 
out  to  scatter  the 
spores.  If  the  pupils 
will  inoculate  a  few 
plums,  they  will  see 
how  rapidly  this 
fungus  works,  and 
by  so  doing  appre- 
ciate the  necessity  of 
picking  and  burning 


FIG.  191.     THE  BLACK  KNOT 

(Photograph  of  collection  prepared  by  Burton  N.  Gates, 
aged  sixteen,  for  his  class  in  the  high  school) 


affected  fruits  before  the  spores  are  cast.  Remedies  for  Monilia  are 
pruning  to  let  in  light  and  air,  thinning  plums  and  peaches  so  that 
no  two  fruits  touch,  picking  and  burning  all  diseased  fruits  as  soon 
as  detected,  and  burning  all  mummified  fruits  in  the  fall,  since  they 
produce  another  crop  of  spores  in  the  spring. 


464  NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 

Peach-Leaf  Curl,  Exoascus  deformans.  —  By  attacking  the  leaves, 
blossoms,  and  growing  twigs  of  the  peach  this  fungus  sometimes 
causes  the  loss  of  the  entire  crop,  and  great  damage  to  the  trees.  If 
present  in  the  neighborhood,  the  pupils  will  have  no  difficulty  in 
finding  specimens  for  study.  Peach-leaf  curl  is  so  easily  prevented 
by  spraying  that  there  is  no  excuse  for  allowing  an  orchard  to  be 
affected  by  it. 

Peach  Yellov/s.  —  No  fungus  has  been  discovered  in  connection 
with  this  disease,  although  it  has  been  sought  for  with  great  diligence. 
Expert  testimony  inclines  to  the  view  that  it  is  not  due  to  a  germ  of 


FIG.  192.     PLUMS  DESTROYED  BY  BROWN  ROT 

any  kind.  Still  it  is  clearly  contagious,  is  transmitted  by  seeds  or 
buds,  and  probably  by  the  mere  presence  of  a  diseased  tree  in  the 
orchard.  How  these  facts  can  be  explained  on  any  other  theory 
than  that  of  the  germ  origin  of  the  disease,  it  is  difficult  to  imagine. 
Affected  trees  ripen  their  fruit  prematurely,  and  many  of  the  buds 
intended  for  the  following  spring  burst  into  a  spindling,  sickly,  yellow 
growth  during  the  summer.  No  tree  has  been  known  to  recover 
when  once  attacked,  and  since  the  fruit  is  worthless,  the  sooner  it  is 
uprooted  and  burned  the  better.  Laws  compel  a  man  to  do  this  in 
a  number  of  states  where  peach  raising  is  an  important  industry. 
Other  garden  fungi  that  should  be  observed  and  studied  are  : 
Downy  Mildew,  Peronospora  viticola.  —  This  fungus  attacks 
grapes,  especially  vines  allowed  to  grow  without  proper  pruning. 


FLOWERLESS    PLANTS  465 

Orange  Rust,  Cceoma  nitens.  —  Raspberry  and  blackberry  bushes 
are  often  attacked  by  this  fungus,  the  leaves  and  young  shoots  com- 
ing out  bright  orange  in  the  spring.  The  appearance  is  so  striking 
as  to  need  no  description.  Affected  plants  should  be  uprooted  and 
burned  before  the  spores  ripen. 

Rose  Mildew,  Sphcerotheca  panno sa. 

Apple  Scab,  Fusicladium  dendriticum.  —  This  fungus  is  commonly 
found  as  black  scabby  patches  on  the  leaves  and  fruit  and  has  been 
estimated  to  injure  from  one-sixth  to  one-half  of  the  entire  apple  crop. 

The  Grain  Smuts.  —  A  conservative  estimate  of  the  damage 
caused  by  fungi  attacking  corn,  wheat,  oats,  barley,  and  rye  is  said 
to  be  $200,000,000  annually;  and  this  amount  is  stolen  so  stealthily 
that  few  realize  their  loss.  In  grain-raising  sections  have  each  pupil 
gather  one  hundred  heads  of  wheat  and  oats  at  random,  and  estimate 
the  percentage  destroyed  by  smut.1 

Yeast.  —  Moulds  and  mildews  are  plants,  many  of  which 
we  can  see  without  difficulty.     We  now  descend  a  step 
lower  to  forms  that  we  cannot  see  without 
a  microscope,  except  in  the  mass.     Greatly  o    0 

magnified,  yeast  plants  have  the  appearance    vJ  U  Uo 
of   tiny   ovoidal   bodies,    of   which   it   would        FIG-  I93- 
take    about    3000   placed    side    by    side    to   YEAST  PLANTS 
measure  an  inch.     Still,  small  as  they  are,  Showins  manner 

.  .  of  growth  (mag- 

we  can  study  them  in  a  practical  way.  nified) 

We  may  use  our  medicine  vials  again  for  this  purpose.  Suppose 
one-half  of  the  class  have  their  vials  each  partially  filled  with  diluted 
fruit  juice,  such  as  we  used  in  the  study  of  moulds  ;  and  the  other 
half,  after  thoroughly  cleansing  and  scalding  their  bottles,  have  a 
large  drop  of  freshly  scalded  flour  or  starch  paste.  It  should  be 
made  as  transparent  as  possible,  be  free  from  air  bubbles,  and  be 
spread  out  evenly  in  one  side  of  the  vial.  Let  the  pupils  provide 
themselves  with  needles  mounted  in  sticks  and  pieces  of  clean  glass, 

1  "  The  Grain  Smuts :  how  they  are  caused  and  how  to  prevent  them," 
by  Walter  T.  Swingle,  Washington,  1898,  Farmer's  Bulletin,  No,  75. 


466  NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 

and  we  will  place  upon  each  of  the  glasses  a  bit  of  compressed  yeast 
the  size  of  a  pin  head.  Ask  each  to  divide  his  yeast,  first  in  halves, 
then  one-half  in  halves  again,  and  so  on  until  he  has  a  particle  that 
he  can  just  see.  Let  the  pupils  now  plant  these  just  visible  particles 
in  their  vials.  They  may  then  cork  them  and  observe  the  growth 
that  takes  place  from  day  to  day.  If  a  piece  of  rubber  dam  is 
stretched  over  the  top  of  one  of  the  bottles  containing  fruit  juice 
and  tied  tightly,  the  gases  produced  by  the  growth  of  the  yeast  will 
puff  up  the  rubber  and  thus  help  to  show  that  something  is  going  on 
inside.  The  liquid  will  soon  become  turbid,  full  of  bubbles,  and  at 
last  a  mass  of  white  substance  will  settle  to  the  bottom.  This  is 
composed  of  yeast  plants,  but  may  be  many  thousand  times  the 
amount  with  which  we  started.  The  liquid  will  have  lost  its  sweet 
taste  and  will  smell  and  taste  of  alcohol,  or  possibly  of  vinegar.  The 
particle  on  the  starch  paste  will  gradually  overgrow  the  whole  drop, 
changing  it  to  a  whitish  mass  of  yeast  plants. 


a 


FIG.  194.     FORMS  OF  BACTERIA 

«,  grippe ;  b,  bubonic  plague  ;  c,  diphtheria  ;  d,  tuberculosis ;  <?,  typhoid  fever ; 
f,  spiral  types. 

Bacteria.  —  The  smaller  a  living  particle  is,  the  more 
powerful  may  it  become.  This  is  because  the  smaller  a 
cell  is,  the  more  surface  it  has  in  proportion  to  its  bulk 
for  the  absorption  of  food.  Bacteria  are  the  smallest  liv- 
ing things  we  know  and,  in  many  ways,  the  most  power- 
ful. Different  forms  of  bacteria  are  shown  in  Fig.  194. 
Some  are  spherical  and  so  minute  that  it  would  take 
125,000  of  them  placed  side  by  side  to  measure  an  inch. 
Others  are  rod  shaped,  but  so  short  that  1500  placed  end 
to  end  would  make  a  line  only  across  the  head  of  a  pin. 
Many  of  the  elongated  forms  are  bent  into  commas  or 


FLOWERLESS   PLANTS  467 

twisted  into  spirals  or  corkscrews.  Minute  as  they  are, 
many  bacteria  have  threadlike  appendages,  with  which 
they  swim  actively  about. 

It  has  been  difficult  to  decide  whether  we  should  class 
bacteria  as  plants  or  animals.  Their  food  and  what  little 
structure  they  possess  are  considered  to  show,  however, 
that  they  are  plants,  related  more  closely  to  the  fungi 
than  to  any  other  group. 

Bacteria  are  practically  everywhere  in  natui?^  They 
exist  in  the  air  as  dust  ;  they  swarm  in  all  surface  waters ; 
the  top  layers  of  fertile  soil  are  literally  alive  with  them, 
almost  all  of  them  harmless  or  beneficial.  The  udders  of 
healthy  cows,  the  healthy  human  mouth,  the  healthy 
stomach  and  intestines,  all  support  varied  florae  of  these 
ubiquitous  plants.  Normally,  however,  they  are  not  pres- 
ent in  the  blood  or  other  tissues  of  a  healthy  animal. 

Bacteria  were  discovered  by  Anton  van  Leeuwenhoek 
in  1683,  but  were  known  merely  as  curiosities  until  about 
1880,  when  Robert  Koch  and  Louis  Pasteur  demonstrated 
their  power  to  cause  disease.  For  a  time  people  were 
greatly  alarmed ;  they  next  bethought  themselves  that 
humanity  had  fared  well  before  the  bacteria  were  discov- 
ered and  would  doubtless  continue  to  fare  as  well,  or  bet- 
ter, thereafter.  As  knowledge  accumulated,  they  realized 
that  there  is  no  reason  why  bacteria  should  not  be  as  good 
to  eat  as  other  vegetables  ;  and  finally  arrived  at  the  view 
as  expressed  by  a  leading  scientist,  that  a  healthy  human 
body  is,  after  all,  the  best  microbe  destroyer  in  the  world. 
Fresh  air  and  sunshine,  exercise,  good  food,  vigor,  and  a 
high  health  level  give  us  these,  and  with  a  few  reasonable 
precautions  we  have  practically  nothing  to  fear. 


468  NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 

Small  as  bacteria  are,  they  possess  powers  of  growth 
and  multiplication  not  paralleled  by  any  other  living  forms. 
It  is  estimated  that  if  all  the  oceans  were  nutrient  broth, 
with  an  average  depth  of  one  mile,  the  progeny  of  one 
microbe  might  fill  them  full  in  less  than  five  days. 

By  precise  methods  it  is  possible  to  rear  as  pure  a  cul- 
ture of  a  desired  kind  of  bacteria  as  of  any  garden  plant. 
While  we  shall  not  be  able  to  do  this,  we  may  make  a  num- 
ber of  instructive  observations  if  we  are  on  the  alert  and 
know  what  to  look  for.  The  phosphorescence  of  decay- 
ing wood,  fish,  or  meat  is  due  to  bacteria  of  decom- 
position. The  red  color,  known  in  superstitious  times  as 
the  "bleeding  Host,"  that  sometimes  overspreads  bread 
and  other  foods,  is  caused  by  other  harmless  bacteria. 

It  will  be  difficult  or  impossible,  without  expensive 
microscopes,  to  distinguish  bacteria  from  yeasts  and 
moulds.  Still,  a  few  simple  experiments  may  be  tried. 
We  may  use  our  vials  again,  —  this  time  filled  with  hay 
infusion1  or  with  a  dilute,  perfectly  clear  broth.  We  may 
sterilize,  as  before  described,  by  boiling  on  two  succes- 
sive days,  and  then  sow  a  minute  quantity  of  dust  from 
the  schoolroom  or  the  street,  keeping  other  vials  stop- 
pered with  cotton  for  comparison.  The  vials  in  which 
dust  is  sown  will  soon  grow  turbid,  a  scum  will  form  on 
top,  and  an  offensive  odor  of  decomposition  will  probably 
make  it  necessary  to  wash  the  vials  out  before  the  experi- 
ment has  continued  too  long.  A  boiled  potato  cut  in  two 

1  Hay  infusion  is  made  by  soaking  a  handful  of  hay  in  a  quart  of  warm 
water  for  an  hour  and  filtering.  Bread  water,  potato  water,  or  meat  juice 
diluted  —  any  clear  solution  containing  a  little  organic  matter  —  will  serve 
the  purpose. 


FLOWERLESS    PLANTS  469 

with  a  sterilized  knife  (a  knife  that  has  been  held  in  a 
flame  for  an  instant  or  in  boiling  water  for  a  few  seconds) 
makes  a  good  field  on  which  to  sow  dust  and  observe  the 
growth  of  bacteria.  The  best  culture  medium,  however, 
is  gelatine,1  which  may  be  used  in  the  pupils'  vials  after 
the  hay-infusion  experiment.  Dust  sown  on  its  trans- 
parent surface  will  leave  little  doubt  in  their  minds  as 
to  the  reality  of  microbes. 

Some  of  the  gelatine  poured  while  warm  upon  a  small 
pane  of  clean  glass  may  be  made  to  yield  a  most  instruct- 
ive demonstration.  Touch  the  hand,  soiled  and  dusty  as  it 
is,  to  the  solidified  gelatine  for  a  few  seconds ;  then  wash 
the  hands  with  soap  and  apply  to  a  fresh  surface  of  the 
gelatine ;  keep  protected  from  dust  for  two  or  three  days. 
The  soiled  hand  will  be  outlined  by  colonies  of  bacteria, 
while  possibly  none  or  few  will  grow  where  the  washed 
hand  touched  the  gelatine.  I  know  of  no  experiment 
which  demonstrates  so  forcibly  the  reason  for  washing 
the  hands  before  breaking  bread. 

Pear  Blight.  —  The  leaves  and  bark  on  branches  of  pear 
trees  sometimes  turn  black.  This  is  due  to  the  work  of 
bacteria  which  gain  access  to  the  tree  through  the  blos- 
soms or  through  some  wound  in  the  bark.  It  was  thought 
that  bees  were  largely  to  blame  for  carrying  the  germs  of 
blight  from  blossom  to  blossom,  and  the  experiment  has 
been  tried  of  removing  them  entirely  from  the  neighbor- 
hood of  pear  orchards  during  the  blossoming  period.  This 

1  Gelatine  for  study  of  bacteria  is  prepared  by  dissolving  in  200  cubic 
centimeters  of  water  i  gram  each  of  Liebig's  beef  extract  and  common  salt 
and  2  grams  of  peptone,  adding  20  grams  of  gelatine.  Dissolve  and  neu- 
tralize, or  make  slightly  alkaline  with  sodium  carbonate.  Stopper  the  bottle 
with  cotton  batting  and  boil  for  fifteen  minutes  on  three  successive  days. 


47°  NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 

resulted  in  greatly  impaired  fruit,  from  lack  of  cross-polli- 
nation, and  apparently  little  difference  in  the  distribution 
of  the  blight.  Affected  limbs  should  be  cut  off  a  foot 
below  any  traces  of  the  blight  and  promptly  burned. 

Foul  Brood.  —  Large  numbers  of  young  bees  are  sometimes 
found  dead  in  the  cells.  This  may  be  due  to  chilling, 
but  if  the  larvae  have  turned  dark  brown  and  softened  to 
the  consistency  of  ropy  mucus,  and  if  the  hive  smells  like 
a  glue  pot,  we  have  to  do  with  the  most  fatal  malady  that 
can  attack  a  colony  of  bees.  The  disease  is  caused  by 
bacteria,  and  an  affected  hive  may  be  the  means  of  killing 
all  the  bees  in  the  neighborhood.  California,  Colorado, 
Michigan,  Nebraska,  New  York,  Utah,  Wisconsin,  and 
Ontario,  Canada,  have  passed  laws  relative  to  foul  brood, 
which  should  be  studied  in  connection  with  the  lessons  on 
the  honeybee. 

Symbiotic  Bacteria.  —  Have  members  of  the  class  prepare 
a  demonstration  of  the  nodules  found  on  the  roots  of 
clover  or  peas.  These  are  filled  with  bacteria,  which  we 
here  find  in  the  new  role  of  helpers  and  food  producers 
for  the  plant  and  for  man.  If  time  permits,  we  may  try  a 
most  instructive  experiment.  Wash  thoroughly  and  ster- 
ilize two  flowerpots  full  of  sand.  Sow  clover  or  peas  in 
both  alike,  except  that  the  seeds  for  one  pot  should  be 
thoroughly  washed  with  boiled  water  and  soap,  and  those 
for  the  other  moistened  with  water  in  which  root  nodules 
have  been  crushed.  Let  the  plants  stand  side  by  side, 
sprinkle  with  boiled  or  distilled  water,  and  watch  the  dif- 
ference in  growth.  Plants  in  the  one  pot  can  use  only 
the  food  stored  in  the  seed ;  those  in  the  other  will  grow 
with  the  aid  of  their  symbiotic  bacteria  by  receiving 
nitrogen  from  the  air. 


FLOWERLESS    PLANTS  471 

Intelligent  Cleanliness.  —  Incidentally,  and  with  a  reason- 
able amount  of  tact,  make  plain  the  relation  of  certain 
bacteria  to  disease,  laying  all  the  emphasis  on  intelligent 
cleanliness  as  a  means  of  prevention.  Our  lessons  on 
moulds  and  mildews  and  other  fungi  will  have  done  much 
to  define  the  problem.  I  do  not  know  of  a  better  plan 
than  to  study  with  the  class  the  board  of  health  regula- 
tions of  the  city  or  town  with  regard  to  cleanliness  of 
premises,  isolation  and  control  of  contagious  diseases,  and 
practical  methods  of  disinfection.  Then,  in  order  to  test 
the  efficiency  of  these  health  measures,  take  the  published 
reports  of  the  board  of  health.  Are  there  cases  of  pre- 
ventable contagious  disease  ?  Comparing  recent  reports 
with  those  of  former  years,  has  there  been  improvement  ? 
The  story  of  epidemics  in  the  neighborhood  will  be 
instructive. 

Ways  by  which  Bacteria  enter  the  Body. — Ask  the  pupils  to 
think  of  a  way  by  which  bacteria  may  gain  access  to  the 
body.  After  our  experiments  with  dust  they  should  be 
able  to  do  this  intelligently.  The  various  answers  may 
be  grouped  as  follows. 

The  Air  Passages.  —  Since  bacteria,  as  we  have  seen, 
form  part  of  the  dust,  they  may  enter  the  body  with  the 
air  we  breathe.  In  elementary  physiology  lessons  the 
children  have  learned  that  the  nostrils  are  provided  with 
curved  and  folded  surfaces  moistened  with  mucus,  one  of 
the  functions  of  which  is  to  catch  all  particles  of  dust  and 
so  prevent  them  from  reaching  the  lungs.  People  who 
breathe  through  the  mouth  are  continually  taking  dust 
into  their  lungs.  Diphtheria,  tuberculosis,  pneumonia, 
and,  especially,  grippe  are  some  of  the  diseases  that  may 


472  NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 

be  transmitted  by  dust  in  the  air.  The  bacteria  get  into 
the  air  chiefly,  if  not  wholly,  from  sputum,  which  after 
drying  may  be  taken  up  by  the  wind.  For  many  localities 
the  board  of  health  reports  will  show  that  more  than  one- 
seventh  of  all  the  deaths  are  caused  by  the  bacteria  of 
tuberculosis.  Regulations  of  the  authorities  with  regard  to 
spitting  in  public  places  should  be  heeded  most  carefully. 

The  Skin. — If  cuts  or  scratches  become  inflamed,  "sore," 
fester,  and  discharge  pus,  we  may  know  that  bacteria  have 
forced  an  entrance.  Thus,  all  breaks  in  the  skin  should 
be  kept  clean  and  carefully  protected  from  dust. 

The  MoutJi. — This  is  perhaps  the  most  important  por- 
tal of  infection,  especially  with  children.  Typhoid  fever, 
cholera,  dysentery,  and  similar  intestinal  diseases  com- 
monly enter  the  system  by  this  channel,  and  generally 
either  with  drinking  water  or  with  food.  Ascertain  from 
the  board  of  health  any  local  history  there  may  be  about 
typhoid  fever  outbreaks. 

An  instructive  fragment  of  such  local  history  happened  in 
Worcester,  Mass.,  in  1896.  Three  cases  of  typhoid  fever,  all  on  the 
same  milk  route,  were  suddenly  reported  to  the  board  of  health. 
The  clerk  of  the  board  hastened  to  the  milk  farm  and  found  its  pro- 
prietor sick  with  typhoid  fever.  By  completely  cleansing  everything 
connected  with  the  dairy  and  by  insisting  on  its  removal  to  a  neigh- 
boring farm,  the  milk  route  was  not  interfered  with,  and  no  other 
cases  developed.  What  might  have  proved  a  serious  epidemic  was 
nipped  in  the  bud. 

An  epidemic  with  which  the  above  should  be  contrasted  happened 
in  Stamford,  Conn.  In  the  spring  of  1895,  386  cases  and  25  deaths 
occurred,  practically  all  of  them  on  the  milk  route  of  a  man  who  dis- 
tributed less  than  one-tenth  of  the  milk  supply  of  the  town.  The 
investigation  indicated  that  all  this  suffering  and  loss  of  life  was 


FLOWERLESS    PLANTS  473 

caused  by  rinsing  the  milk  cans  in  water  from  a  shallow  well,  prac- 
tically a  cesspool.  The  few  bacteria  clinging  to  the  cans  multiplied 
rapidly  in  the  warm  milk.1 

The  typical  case  in  which  typhoid  fever  was  distributed  through 
the  water  supply  is  that  of  1885  in  Plymouth,  Pa.,  a  mining  town  of 
about  8500  inhabitants  on  the  Susquehanna  River.  A  case  of 
typhoid  fever,  contracted  in  Philadelphia,  had  been  cared  for  during 
the  winter  in  a  house  standing  close  to  a  stream  that  flowed  into  the 
town  reservoir.  The  waste  from  the  patient  had  been  thrown  out 
on  the  snow  unsterilized.  When  the  snow  melted,  this  was  carried 
down  and  mingled  with  the  water  supplied  to  the  town.  After  about 
ten  days  cases  of  typhoid  fever  began  to  appear  at  the  rate  of  from 
50  to  200  a  day  until  1 104  had  been  taken  ill,  and  as  a  result  1 14 
died.  This  calamity  befell  the  town  because  some  one  was  negligent 
or  did  not  know  how  to  destroy  a  few  germs  of  typhoid  fever  or 
prevent  them  from  gaining  access  to  a  water  supply. 

The  school  is  a  natural  mingling  place  for  the  germs  of 
a  community,  and  it  is  time  that  parents,  teachers,  and 
pupils  should  combine  to  make  it  the  most  ideally  clean 
place  in  the  neighborhood.  Attention  has  often  been 
called  to  the  fact  that  diseases  of  children  point  to  the 
school  as  the  great  center  of  infection.  I  dare  say  that 
the  statistics  of  any  town  or  city  will  show  this  ;  and  until 
the  feather  duster  is  banished  and  intelligent  cleanliness 
is  secured,  this  will  go  on.  Fig.  195  is  plotted  from  the 
monthly  reports  of  the  Worcester  Board  of  Health  for  the 
three  children's  diseases  specified. 

Why  do  we  go  to  the  expense  of  providing  tools  for 
manual  training,  household  furniture,  and  materials  for 
sewing,  cooking,  and  domestic  science,  and  leave  the  most 
important  work  of  all  —  cleanliness  of  the  schoolroom — to 

1  Prof.  Herbert  E.  Smith.  Report  on  the  Stamford  Typhoid  Fever  Epi- 
demic. Published  by  the  State  Board  of  Health,  New  Haven,  Conn. 


474 


NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 


the  janitor?  Why  do  we  fail  to  give  the  lessons  that  will 
flow  out  in  health  and  cleanliness  into  all  the  homes  of  the 
district  and  go  with  the  children  as  long  as  they  live  ? 


'97-98 


'93-^94  '94-^95  '95-^96  '96-^97 

SCHOOL  YEARS 

FIG.  195.    THE  SCHOOL  AND  CONTAGIOUS  DISEASES  OF  CHILDREN 

The  upper  line  for  diphtheria  gives  the  number  of  cases,  the  lower,  the  number  of 

deaths.     The  summer  vacations  are  indicated  as  breaks  between  the  school  years 

The  following,  published  by  the  Health  Department  of 
Providence,  marks  an  advance  in  rational  teaching  of 
cleanliness  and  personal  hygiene. 

HEALTH    DEPARTMENT 

SUGGESTIONS  FOR  THE  TEACHING  OF  CLEANLINESS  AMONG 
SCHOOL  CHILDREN 

The  poisons  of  some  of  the  common  and  also  of  some  of  the  most 
loathsome  diseases  are  frequently  contained  in  the  mouth.  In  such 
cases  anything  which  is  moistened  by  the  saliva  of  the  infected  per- 
son may,  if  it  touches  the  lips  of  another,  convey  disease.  The  more 
direct  the  contact  the  greater  the  danger. 


FLOWERLESS    PLANTS  4/5 

It  is  the  purpose  of  health  officials  to  keep  in  isolation  all  persons 
having  communicable  disease  during  the  time  that  they  are  infectious. 
But  in  many  cases  this  is  impossible.  Little  restraint  is  put  on  cer- 
tain mild  diseases,  as  measles,  whooping  cough,  chicken  pox,  and 
mumps ;  and  even  such  diseases  as  diphtheria,  scarlet  fever,  and  tuber- 
culosis are  frequently  so  mild  as  to  be  unnoticed,  and  children  affected 
with  them  mingle  freely  with  others.  It  is  probable  that  in  such 
cases  one  of  the  chief  vehicles  of  contagion  is  the  secretion  of  the 
mouth  and  nose.  It  is  believed  that  much  can  be  done  to  prevent 
contagion  by  teaching  habits  of  cleanliness.  But  if  such  instruction 
is  to  be  effectual  it  must  be  continuous.  The  teacher  must  notice 
and  correct  violations  of  those  rules  as  habitually  as  the  violation  of 
the  formal  school  rules  are  corrected. 

Even  if  the  question  of  disease  and  contagion  did  not  enter  into 
the  matter  at  all  the  subject  ought  to  be  given  more  attention  by 
teachers.  Our  schools  should  not  only  teach  reading,  writing,  and 
arithmetic,  but  it  is  perhaps  quite  as  important  that  they  should 
inculcate  cleanliness,  decency,  refinement,  and  manners.  Cleanliness 
should  be  taught  for  its  own  sake,  even  if  it  had  no  relation  whatever 
to  health. 

TEACH  THE  CHILDREN 

Not  to  spit ;  it  is  rarely  necessary.  To  spit  on  a  slate,  floor,  or 
sidewalk  is  an  abomination/ 

Not  to  put  the  fingers  into  the  mouth. 

Not  to  pick  the  nose. 

Not  to  wet  the  finger  with  saliva  in  turning  the  leaves  of  books. 

Not  to  put  pencils  into  the  mouth  or  moisten  them  with  the  lips. 

Not  to  put  money  into  the  mouth. 

Not  to  put  anything  into  the  mouth  except  food  and  drink. 

Not  to  swap  apple  cores,  candy,  chewing  gum,  half-eaten  food, 
whistles  or  bean  blowers,  or  anything  that  is  habitually  put  in  the 
mouth. 

Teach  the  children  to  wash  the  hands  and  face  often.  See  that 
they  keep  them  clean.  If  a  child  is  coming  down  with  a  communi- 
cable disease  it  is  reasonable  to  believe  that  there  is  less  chance  of 
infecting  persons  and  things  if  the  hands  and  face  are  washed  clean 
and  not  daubed  with  the  secretions  of  the  nose  and  mouth. 

Teach  the  children  to  turn  the  face  aside  when  coughing  and 
sneezing,  if  they  are  facing  another  person. 

Children  should  be  taught  that  their  bodies  are  their  own  private 
possessions,  that  personal  cleanliness  is  a  duty,  that  the  mouth  is  for 
eating  and  speaking  and  should  not  be  used  as  a  pocket,  and  the  lips 
should  not  take  the  place  of  fingers. 

PROVIDENCE,  May,  1901. 


4/6 


NATURE    STUDY    AND    Li  Ml 


I  may  add  to  the  above  Miss  Henry's  solution  of  the 
schoolroom  dust  problem.  At  the  beginning  of  the  school 
year  1900—1901  all  the  feather  dusters  in  the  building 
were  collected  and  burned.  Dusting  cloths  were  pro- 
vided, and  two  girls  in  each  room  were  honored  by  being 
appointed  dusters  for  the  month.  They  are  given  instruc- 


FIG.  196.     THE  HEALTH  BRIGADE 
Upsala  Street  School,  Worcester,  Mass.     (Photograph  by  Katherine  E.  Dolbear) 

tion  on  dusting  and  on  the  care  of  the  dust  cloths  and  uni- 
forms. The  dusters  come  fifteen  minutes  early  each 
morning,  take  their  cloths  to  the  sink,  moisten  them, 
wipe  the  desks'  and  furniture  of  their  schoolroom,  rinse 
their  cloths,  and  hang  them  up  to  dry.  Once  a  week  the 
cloths  are  laundered. 

The  result  of  the  year's  experiment  was,  not  a  case  of 
contagion  in  a  school  of  425  pupils  during  the  entire  school 


FLOWERLESS    PLANTS  477 

year,  —  the  first  year  in  the  history  of  the  school  of  which 
this  is  true.  The  girls  are  eager  to  do  the  work  and  enjoy 
wearing  the  uniforms.  In  this  way  twenty  girls,  prac- 
tically all  in  the  class,  are  taught  this  element  of  domestic 
science  and  hygiene.  Some  slight  objection  has  been 
made  by  a  few  parents  on  the  ground  of  menial  service 
or  of  soiling  clothes.  The  little  uniforms  shown  in  the 
picture,  it  is  hoped,  may  meet  the  one  objection  ;  and 
some  appreciation  of  the  value  of  the  lessons  and  the 
dignity  of  the  service,  the  other. 

"  I  myself  have  washed  a  flight  of  stone  stairs  all 
down,  with  bucket  and  broom,  in  a  Savoy  inn,  where 
they  had  n't  washed  their  stairs  since  they  first  went  up 
them,  and  I  never  made  a  better  sketch  than  that 
afternoon."  RUSKIN. 

"  But  so  shall  it  not  be  among  you  :  but  whosoever  will 
be  great  among  you,  shall  be  your  minister  :  and  whoso- 
ever of  you  will  be  the  chiefest,  shall  be  servant  of  all." 


CHAPTER    XXVIII 

THE   GRADE   PLAN 

FOR  a  graded  system  of  schools  a  few  suggestions  may  be 
required  as  to  the  distribution  of  topics  throughout  the  course. 
The  following  grade  plan  is  offered,  merely  as  a  suggestion, 
by  which  progression  and  coordination  of  subjects  may  be 
secured,  and  confusion  and  repetition  may  be  avoided.  If  I 

GRADE  I 

LESSONS  WITH  ANIMALS 
DOMESTIC  ANIMALS  :   The  dog  ;  traits,  uses,  care,  kinds 

BIRDS  :    Robin  Chickadee  English  sparrow 

Bluebird  ^  Chipping  sparrow  Crow 

FROGS  AND  SALAMANDERS  : 

Tree  frog  "j 

Toad  >  Feeding  with  insects  ;  learn  notes 

Red  and  green  newts  j 

FISHES  :    Goldfish  Shiners  Sunfish 

INSECTS:  Milkweed  butterfly  Cecropia  moth  Isabella  tiger  caterpillar 
Promethea  moth       lo  moth  Flea 

MISCELLANEOUS  ANIMALS  :  Turtles']  T  ,  .     , 

j*  Living  specimens,  care  and  food 

478 


THE    GRADE    PLAN  479 

thought  that  it  would  exert  an  undue  influence  toward  rigidly 
fixing  and  mechanizing  the  course,  I  should  leave  it  out. 

Do  not  attempt  too  much  at  first.  To  begin  with,  select 
such  topics  under  your  grade  as  you  are  most  familiar  with, 
and  such  as  are  related  to  the  interests  of  your  pupils,  and 
carry  these  through  to  a  definite  result.  Gradually,  as  ease 
and  familiarity  are  acquired,  increase  the  number  of  subjects. 
For  different  parts  of  the  country,  as  suggested  throughout 
the  book,  free  substitution  of  topics,  different  species  of 
insects,  birds,  trees,  flowers,  etc.,  will  be  necessary.  With 
the  methods  of  study  given  for  similar  subjects,  any  such 
substitutions  may  be  made  without  difficulty. 


GRADE  I 
LESSONS  WITH  PLANTS 

COMPETITIVE  FLOWER  REARING  :    Dwarf  nasturtium 

STUDY  OF  WILD  FLOWERS  : 

Arbutus  A  golden-rod  Dandelion  An  aster 

'Anemone  Oxeye  daisy  Bluets  Burdock 

A  blue  violet        Buttercup  Milkweed  Poison  ivy 

FLOWER  CALENDAR 

GARDEN  WORK  :    Vegetable  garden ;  radishes,  onion  sets,  rhubarb 

FRUIT  :    Peach  (or  plum)  ;  rear  from  seed 

>  Save  and  plant  the  seeds 
FLOWERLESS  PLANTS  :    Ferns  ;  acquaintance  with  a  few  kinds 


TREES  :    Soft  maple 
Chestnut 


MYTHS,  LEGENDS,  STORIES,  POEMS,  AND  PICTURES  OF  THE  PLANTS 
AND  ANIMALS  FOR  THIS  GRADE 


480  NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 

GRADE  II 

LESSONS  WITH  ANIMALS 

DOMESTIC  ANIMALS: 

The  cat  (Tame  white  mice  ?) 


BIRDS : 

Baltimore  oriole  Goldfinch 

Song  sparrow  Blue  jay 

Snow  bunting  White-breasted  swallow 

Downy  woodpecker  Scarlet  tanager 


FROGS  AND  SALAMANDERS  : 

Bullfrog  ;  feeding  with  insects  ;  learn  notes 

FISHES  : 

Dacel  Acquaintance  with  living  fishes  in  aquaria  and  in  native 
Pout  j  haunts 

i 

INSECTS : 

Grasshoppers  Black  swallowtail 

Crickets  Polyphemus 

June  beetles  Luna 

Flies  Elm-leaf  beetle 

Lice  Potato  beetle 


MISCELLANEOUS  ANIMALS  : 

Rats,  mice  ;  habits,  destructiveness,  methods  of  trapping 


THE    GRADE    PLAN 


481 


GRADE  II 

LESSONS  WITH  PLANTS 


COMPETITIVE  FLOWER  REARING  : 
Calliopsis 

STUDY  OF  WILD  FLOWERS  : 
Cone  flower 
Trilliums 
Wild  geranium 
Robin's  plantain 
Marsh  marigold 
Bloodroot 


Iris 

Mallow 

Yarrow 

Tansy 

Healall 

Poison  sumac 


FLOWER  CALENDAR 

GARDEN  WORK  : 

Vegetable  garden  ;  lettuce,  carrot,  potato,  onion  (from  seed) 

FRUIT  : 

Grapes ;  layers  and  cuttings ;  save  and  plant  the  seeds 

TREES  : 
Elms 


!•  Collect  and  plant  seeds 


FLOWERLESS  PLANTS  : 
Ferns  "1 

Mosses         >•  Acquaintance  with  a  few  kinds 
Liverworts  j 

MYTHS,  LEGENDS,  STORIES,  POEMS,  AND  PICTURES  OF  THE 
PLANTS  AND  ANIMALS  FOR  THIS  GRADE 


482  NATURE    STUDY   AND    LIFE 

GRADE  III 
LESSONS  WITH   ANIMALS 

DOMESTIC  ANIMALS  : 

Rabbit;  foods,  habits,  care 

BIRDS: 

Barn  swallow  Cedar  bird 

Night  hawk  Phoebe 

Whip-poor-will  Chebec 

Chimney  swift  Junco 

Humming  bird  Meadow  lark 

FROGS  AND  SALAMANDERS  : 

Leopard  frog  ;  live  specimens,  feeding  tests  with  insects  ;  learn 
notes 

FISHES  : 

Pickerel  1  Acquaintance  with  living  fishes  in  aquaria  and  native 
Pike        /          haunts 

INSECTS  : 

Mourning  cloak  Caddis  flies 

Imperial  moth  Water  bugs 

Meal  worm  Strawberry  insects 

Rose  beetles  Dragon  flies 

Clothes  moth  Damsel  flies 
Asparagus  beetle 

MISCELLANEOUS  ANIMALS  : 

Squirrels  nin    of  nuts 


quirres       TaminR  ]iabits,  storing  and  planting  of 
Chipmunkj 


THE    GRADE    PLAN  483 

GRADE  III 

LESSONS  WITH  PLANTS 

COMPETITIVE  FLOWER  REARING  : 
Mimosa 

STUDY  OF  WILD  FLOWERS  : 

Solomon's  seal  Chickweed 

False  Solomon's  seal  Mountain  laurel 

Hepatica  Lambkill 

Cinquefoil  Bellwort 

Fringed  polygala  Bittersweet 

Bur  marigold  Wild  carrot 

FLOWER  CALENDAR 

GARDEN  WORK  : 

Vegetable  garden  ;  asparagus,  beets 

FRUIT: 

Strawberry  ;  varieties,  propagation  by  runners,  seeds 

TREES  : 

Hard  maples     1 

Horse-chestnut  j.  Save  and  germinate  seeds 

Hickory 

FLOWERLESS  PLANTS  : 

Lichens  and  algae  ;  recognize  as  classes  of  plants 

MYTHS,  LEGENDS,  STORIES,  POEMS,  AND  PICTURES  OF  THE 
PLANTS  AND  ANIMALS  FOR  THIS  GRADE 


484  NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 

GRADE  IV 
LESSONS  WITH  ANIMALS 

DOMESTICATED  ANIMALS  : 

Fowls  ;  kinds,  habits,  care,  food,  rearing 

BIRDS : 

Vesper  sparrow  Brown  thrasher 

Catbird  White-breasted  nuthatch 

Kingbird  Red-breasted  nuthatch 

Cowbird  Quail 

Red-winged  blackbird  Partridge 

Redstart  Prairie  chicken 
Flicker 

FROGS  AND  SALAMANDERS  : 

Green  frog  1  Learn  notes  and  make  feeding  tests  with 

Spotted  salamander  )  insects 

FISHES  : 

Suckers ;  living  fishes  in  aquaria  and  in  native  haunts 

INSECTS: 

Codling  moth  Fall  webworm 

Tent  caterpillars  Apple-leaf  crumplei 

Cankerworm  Carpet  beetles 

Apple-tree  borer  Red  admiral 
White-marked  tussock  moth 

MISCELLANEOUS  ANIMALS  : 
Spiders  and  harvestmen 


THE    GRADE    PLAN  485 

GRADE  IV 
LESSONS  WITH  PLANTS 

COMPETITIVE  FLOWER  REARING: 
Centaurea,  Emperor  William 

FLOWER  CALENDAR 

STUDY  OF  WILD  FLOWERS  : 

Meadow  rue  Lady's  slipper 

Purple  avens  Blue-eyed  grass 

Indian  pipe  Thoroughwort 

Sundew  Jack-in-the-pulpit 

Shad  bush  Corn  cockle 
Saxifrage 

GARDEN  WORK  : 

Vegetable  garden  ;  parsnips,  sage,  horse  radish 
Wild-flower  garden  ;  lessons  on  transplanting 

4 

FRUIT  : 

Apples ;  save  and  plant  seeds,  and  learn  varieties 

TREES : 

Butternut ;  germinate  nut       Mulberry  ;  propagate  from  cuttings 

FLOWERLESS  PLANTS  : 

Mushrooms ;    collect  specimens,    learn   to   recognize    poisonous 
Amanitas 

MYTHS,  LEGENDS,  STORIES,  POEMS,  AND  PICTURES  OF  THE  PLANTS 
AND  ANIMALS  FOR  THIS  GRADE 


486  NATURE    STUDY   AND    LIFE 

GRADE  V 

LESSONS   WITH   ANIMALS 

DOMESTICATED  ANIMALS  : 

The  horse ;  origin,  domestication,  traits,  uses,  care 
Laws  regarding  cruelty  to  animals 

BIRDS : 

Bobolink  Red-eyed  vireo 

Kingfisher  Indigo  bunting 

Chewink  Brown  creeper 

Ovenbird  Purple  martin 

Purple  finch  Sparrow  hawk 

FROGS  AND  SALAMANDERS  : 

^  Feeding  tests  with  insects,  notes,  rear  from  eggs 
Red  triton    J 

FISHES  : 

Perch ;  feeding  tests,  spawning  season,  and  habits 

INSECTS : 

Plant  lice  Honeybee 

Lady  beetles  Bumblebee 

Mosquitoes  Mud  wasp 

Regal  moth  Paper  wasp 
Curculios 

MISCELLANEOUS  ANIMALS  : 

Clams  and  snails  Slugs 

Muskrat 


THE    GRADE    PLAN  487 

GRADE  V 
LESSONS  WITH  PLANTS 

COMPETITIVE  FLOWER  REARING: 
Balsam 

STUDY  OF  WILD  FLOWERS  : 

Evening  primrose  Sarsaparilla 

Meadow  lily  Elecampane 

Buttonbush  Columbine 

Jewelweed  Blueberries 

Bishop's  cap  Checkerberry 

Snake's-head  Spurges 

FLOWER  CALENDAR 

GARDEN  WORK  : 

Vegetable  garden  ;  spinach,  tomatoes,  cucumbers 
Wild-flower  garden  ;  ferns,  spore  formation 

FRUIT  : 

|  Learn  varieties,  and  study  buds,  terminal,  lateral, 
Apricots  fru.t 

Nectarines    J 

TREES  : 

Black  walnut  Cedars  "1 

Hackberry  Juniper  j*  Study  and  germinate  seeds 

Willows  Larch     j 

FLOWERLESS  PLANTS  : 

Moulds  and  yeast  Black  knot 

Foul  brood  Monilia 

MYTHS,  LEGENDS,  STORIES,  POEMS,  AND  PICTURES  OF  THE  PLANTS 
AND  ANIMALS  FOR  THIS  GRADE 


488  NATURE    STUDY   AND    LIFE 

GRADE  VI 
LESSONS   WITH   ANIMALS 

DOMESTICATED  ANIMALS  : 

Pigeons  ;  domestication,  habits,  feeding,  and  care 


BIRDS  : 


Maryland  yellowthroat  Veery 

Rose-breasted  grosbeak  House  wren 

Hairy  woodpecker  Warbling  vireo 

Crossbills  White-throated  sparrow 

Wood  pewee  Fox  sparrow 

State  laws  for  protection  of  birds 


FROGS  AND  SALAMANDERS: 

Wood  frog  1  Rear  from  eggs  and  make  feeding 

Red-backed  salamander  J  tests  with  insects 


FISHES: 

Bass  ;  rock,  large  and  small  mouth,  black 

INSECTS: 

Borers  ;  peach-tree  and  others  Botflies 

Cabbage  worm  and  parasites  Apple  maggot 

Tiger  beetles  House  ants 
Squash  bugs 

MISCELLANEOUS  ANIMALS  : 

Earthworms  Moles  and  shrews 


THE    GRADE    PLAN  489 

GRADE  VI 
LESSONS  WITH  PLANTS 

COMPETITIVE  FLOWER  REARING  : 
Petunia 

STUDY  OF  WILD  FLOWERS  : 

Foam  flower  Celandine 

Early  rue  Willow  herb 

Dogbane  Clematis 

Daisy  fleabane  Sand  spurry 

Speckled  alder  Butter  and  eggs 

Purple  Gerardia  Poison  hemlocks 

FLOWER  CALENDAR 

GARDEN  WORK  : 

Vegetable  garden  ;  cabbage,  turnip,  mustard 
Wild-flower  garden ;  collect  wild-flower  seeds  and  plant 


FRUIT  : 


Cherries 
Peaches 


>  Study  varieties,  grafting,  budding,  pruning 


TREES  : 

Birches  Pines          1 

™  ,.  f,  r  Study  and  germinate  seeds 

Tulip  Sycamore  J 

City  or  town  ordinances  with  reference  to  injury  of  shade  trees 

FLOWERLESS  PLANTS: 

Apple  scab       Rose  mildew        Peach-leaf  curl        Peach  yellows 


490 


NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 


BIRDS  : 


GRADE  VII 
LESSONS   WITH   ANIMALS 


Tree  sparrow 
Crackles 
Wood  thrush 
Yellow-throated  vireo 
Black-billed  cuckoo 


Yellow-billed  cuckoo 
White-crowned  sparrow 
Ruby-crowned  kinglet 
Golden-crowned  kinglet 
Myrtle  warbler 


FROGS  AND  SALAMANDERS  : 

Life  story  of  common  toad ;  rear  from  eggs,  make  feeding  tests 

with  insects 
Newts 


FISHES  : 

Trout 

Salmon  ;  spawning  seasons,  habits 

State  laws  concerning  fishes 


INSECTS : 


Cutworms 
Lion  beetles 
Army  worm 
Corn  worm 
Sphinxes 


Ichneumon  flies 
Gypsy  moth  (in  eastern  Mass.) 
Brown-tailed  moth  (in  eastern  Mass.) 
Household  pests;    bed   bug,  kissing 
bug,  roaches 


MISCELLANEOUS  ANIMALS  : 

Woodchuck 

Centipedes  and  millipedes 


Mink  and  otter 


THE    GRADE    PLAN  491 

GRADE  VII 

LESSONS  WITH  PLANTS 

COMPETITIVE  FLOWER  REARING: 
Ten-weeks  stock 

FLOWER  CALENDAR 

STUDY  OF  WILD  FLOWERS: 

Ragwort  St.  John's-wort 

Milkwort  Pitcher  plant 

Chicory  Sweet  vernal  grass 

Clethra  June  grass 

Baneberry  Timothy  grass 

Star  grass  Fescue  grass 

Blue  curls  Jimson  weed 

GARDEN  WORK  : 

Vegetable  garden  Common  weeds 

Wild-flower  garden 

FRUIT  : 

Grape,  raspberry,  blackberry 

Grapevine  culture  ;  layers,  runners,  cuttings,  seeds 

TREES : 

Chokecherry  Box  elder  "1 

Red  cherry  Ashes         i-  Study  and  germinate  seeds 

Black  cherry  Poplars     J 

FLOWERLESS  PLANTS  : 

Moulds  Orange  rust 

Grain  smuts  Grape  mildews 

Review  mushrooms 

State  laws  concerning  fungous  diseases  of  plants 


492  NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 

GRADE  VIII 
LESSONS  WITH  ANIMALS 

BIRDS : 

'  Chestnut-sided  warbler  Water  thrush 

Blackburnian  warbler  Bank  swallow 

Magnolia  warbler  Hermit  thrush 

Yellow-breasted  chat  Marsh  hawk 

Solitary  sandpiper  Wild  ducks 

Little  green  heron  Wild  geese 

Red-headed  woodpecker  Wild  swans 

Study  game  laws 


FROGS  AND  SALAMANDERS  : 

Pickering's  tree  frog  Mud  puppy 

Cricket  frog 


FISHES  : 
Eels 

INSECTS : 

Aphids  Pear  slug 

Currant  worms  Am.  copper  butterfly 

Rose  slug  Painted  beauty 


MISCELLANEOUS  ANIMALS  : 

Bat  Weasel 

Porcupine 


THE    GRADE    PLAN 


493 


GRADE  VIII 

LESSONS   WITH   PLANTS 


COMPETITIVE  FLOWER  REARING  : 
Carnation 

FLOWER  CALENDAR 


STUDY  OF  WILD  FLOWERS  : 
Spring  beauty 
Gentians 
Pale  Corydalis 
Cardinal  flower 
Groundnut 
Green  brier 
Viburnum 


Cassandra 

Cohosh 

Foxglove 

Loosestrife 

Herb  Robert 

Gold  thread 

Nightshades 


GARDEN  WORK  : 

Vegetable  garden 
Wild-flower  garden 


FRUIT  : 

Currant,  gooseberry 

Methods  of  propagating  fruit  and  forest  trees 


TREES  : 


Spruces          Beeches  1  0 

>  Study  and  germinate  seeds 
Tupelo  Lindens  J 

State  laws  concerning  forest  fires 


FLOWERLESS  PLANTS  : 
Bacteria 
Pear  blight 


Foul  brood 


494 


NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 


GRADE  IX 


LESSONS   WITH   ANIMALS 


BIRDS  : 


Northern  shrike 
Pine  grosbeak 
Pine  siskin 
Sapsucker 
Loon 
Grebes 


Herons 

Eagles 

Hawks 

Owls 

Gulls 

Terns 


FROGS  AND  SALAMANDERS  : 

Spadefoot  frog 

Review  and  make  feeding  tests  with  frogs,  toads,  and  salamanders 


FISH: 

Stickleback 


INSECTS: 

Scale  insects 

San  Jose'  scale 

Honeybee  and  cross-fertilization 


Wood  nymphs 

Fritillaries 

Swallowtails 


MISCELLANEOUS  ANIMALS  : 
Skunk 


Fox 


THE    GRADK    PLAN 


495 


GRADE  IX 


LESSONS  WITH   PLANTS 


COMPETITIVE  FLOWER  REARING: 
Tea  rose 


STUDY  OF  WILD 
Rhodora 
Pipsissewa 
Pyrola 
Pimpernel 
Spicebush 
Are  th  usa 
Larkspur 


FLOWERS  : 
Dodder 
Blazing  star 
Meadow  beauty 
Lobelia 
Clover 
Pokeweed 
Sunflowers 


Review  and  classify  a  number 
of  the  common  plants  under  : 

Rose  family 

Lily  family 

Mustard  family 

Pulse  family 

Parsley  family 

Aster  family 

Grass  family 


FLOWER  CALENDAR 

GARDEN  WORK  : 

Vegetable  garden 
Wild-flower  garden 

FRUIT  : 

Quince 


Review  fruits,  varieties,  culture 
and  propagation 


TREES  : 

Sassafras 
Hornbeam 


Locusts 
Fir  . 


"1 

I  Study 


and 


Influence  of  forests  on:  soil  formation;  surface  waters;  climate 

Symbiotic  bacteria 


FLOWERLESS  PLANTS  : 

Bacteria,  intelligent  cleanliness 

Board  of  Health  regulations  and  statistics 


,  l 


INDEX 


[Numbers  in  black-face  type  indicate  an  illustration  on  the  page  cited.'] 


A,  B,  C  of  landscape  gardening,  136. 
Abused  street  trees,  372. 
Acadian  hairstreak,  268. 
Achemon  sphinx,  209. 
Acris  gryllus,  300. 
Active  education,  132. 
yEgeria  pyri,  191. 

polistiformis,  191. 

tipuliformis,  191. 
/Esculus  pavia,  114. 
/Esthetic   values    of    nature   study, 

20-22. 

Agarics,  450. 

Agrostemma  githago,  113. 

Agrostis,  198. 

Aims  and  purposes  of  a  nature-study 

course,  i. 
Alder  aphids,  209. 
Alexander  the  Great,  40. 
Algae,  103,  438,  483. 
Amanita  caesaria,  450. 

muscaria,  450. 

phalloides,  450. 

rubsscens,  451. 

verna,  450. 

Amblystoma  punctatum,  302. 
American  copper  butterfly,  264,  492. 

false  hellebore,  117. 

laurel,  114. 

Pomological  Society,  150. 


Amphicerus  bicaudatus,  193. 

Anacreon,  335. 

Anarsia  lineatella,  193. 

Anasa  tristis,  225. 

Anemone,  479. 

Angelus  Silesius,  102. 

Animal  species,  7. 

Anisopteryx  pometaria,  196. 

Anopheles,  68-70,  70. 

Anthonomus  quadrigibbus,  204. 

Anthrenus  scrophularias,  59,  75-78. 

76,  78- 

Antiopa,  47,  262,  268. 
Ants,  86-88,  86,  87,  415,  488. 
Ant's  nest,  how  to  make,  418,  488. 
Aphids,  210,  214,  486,  492. 
Aphis  maidis,  210. 

mali,  210. 
Apple,  485. 

curculio,  204. 

leaf  crumpler,  206,  484. 

maggot,  202-204,  203,  480. 

of  Peru,  115. 

root  plant  louse,  215. 

scab,  465,  489. 

Appleseed,  Johnny,  158,  159. 
Apple-tree  aphid,  210. 

borers,  191,  192,  484. 
Apple  tree,  how  to  rear,  169, 

tent  caterpillar,  195. 


497 


498 


NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 


Apricot,  152,  180,  487. 

Aquaria,  feeding  of  the  animals  in, 

403- 

construction  of,  394-399,  395, 

396,  398,  399- 
Aquarium,  scavengers  of,  403. 

cements,  399. 

how  to  stock,  400. 
Arbor  day,  391. 
Arbutus,  479. 
Arethusa,  495. 
Army  worm,  225,  490. 
Arnold  Arboretum,  364. 
Arnold,  Edwin,  274. 
Ashes,  491. 

Asiatic  crab  apple,  158. 
Asparagus  beetle,  222,  482. 
Aspidiotus  perniciosus,  219. 
Asters,  479,  495. 
Astragalus  Lambertii,  117. 

mollissimus,  117. 
Audubon  Societies,  344. 

Society,proposed  pledge  for,345- 
Australian  roach,  85. 

Babcock,  Charles  A.,  345. 
Bacteria,  103,  440,  466,  466,  493,  495. 

ways  by  which   they  enter  the 

body,  471. 
Balsam,  96,  97,  487. 
Baltimore  oriole,  480. 

nest  of,  321. 
Banded  hairstreak,  268. 
Baneberry,  491. 
Bank  swallow,  492. 
Bark  lice,  215. 
Barn  swallow,  342,  482. 

swallow's  nest,  336. 
Basilarchia  arthemis,  268. 

astyanax,  268. 


Bass  :   rock,  large  and  small  mouth, 

black,  488. 

Bat,  as  insect  destroyer,    187,  405, 
492. 

feeding  of,  406. 
Beal,  F.  E.  L.,  345. 
Bear  corn,  117. 
Beaver  poison,  in. 
Bedbug,  82,  82,  490. 
Beeches,  493. 
Bee  hunting,  240. 
Bees,  races  of,  241. 
Bellwort,  483. 
Big  ivy,  114. 
Biological  type,  289. 
Birches,  489. 
Bird  bath,  330. 

census,  319,  320,  321. 

food  chart,  323. 

homes,  332. 

house,  337. 

houses,  332. 
Bird-Lore,  344,  345,  351. 

directory    of     State    Audubon 

Societies,    345. 
Birds,  climatic  influences  upon,  311. 

decrease  of,  311. 

eating  codling  moth,  187. 

enemies  of,  312-317. 

food  for  the  young,  361. 

foods  of,  322,  347. 

nesting  materials,  340. 

rate  of  increase,  308. 
Bird  taming,  347. 
Bishop's  cap,  487. 
Bismarck  apple,  157,  158. 
Bittersweet,  117,  483. 
Black  ant,  small,  86,  86. 

bee,  239,  241. 
Blackberry,  491. 


INDEX 


499 


Black-billed  cuckoo,  490. 
Blackburnian  warbler,  492. 
Black  cherry,  113,  491. 

knot,  462,  463,  487. 

mercury,  107. 

mould,  461. 

nightshade,  117. 

roach,  85-86. 

swallowtail,  268,  480. 

Thalessa,  247. 

walnut,  487. 
Blanks  for  lessons  with  plants,  139, 

145,  148. 

Blazing  star,  495. 
Blissus  leucopterus,  226. 
Bloodroot,  1 02,  481. 
Blood-sucking  cone  nose,  83,  83. 
Blowpipe,  57. 
Blueberries,  487. 

Bluebird,  333,  340,  342,  349,  478. 
Bluebottle  fly,  63,  64. 
Blue  curls,  491. 

emperor,  268. 

jay,  323,  480. 

mould,  461. 

Mountain  Forest,  9,  16. 

swallowtail,  268. 
Blue-eyed  grass,  485. 

Satyrus,  266. 
Bluets,  479. 

Board  of  health  regulations,  474,  495. 
Bobolink,  323,  342,  486. 
Boleti,  453,  453. 
Bolles,  Frank,  336. 
Bollworm,  225. 
Bombardier  beetles,  256. 
Bordered  skipper,  270. 
Borers,  488. 

Borer  signs  around  base  of  peach 
tree,  190. 


Botflies,  414,  488. 
Box  elder,  491. 
Brackett,  G.  B.,  173. 
Braconids,  250. 
Branch  ivy,  117. 
Brightwen,  Mrs.,  345. 
Brinton,  Dr.,  on  property,  127. 
Broad-leaf  laurel,  114. 

necked  Prionus,  192. 
Brown  creeper,  349,  486. 

elfin,  268. 

emperor,  266. 

frog,  298,  486. 

rot,  463,  464. 

tailed  moth,  490. 

thrasher,  323,  342,  349,  484. 
Browning,  Mrs.,  33. 
Brunella,  481. 
Bucephalus,  40. 
Budding  a  peach  tree,  175-179,  175, 

489. 

Budding  knife,  175. 
Buds,  lessons  on,  161,  487. 
Buffalo  herd,  9. 

moth,  75. 

Bufo  lentiginosus,  297. 
Bug,  correct  use  of  word,  423. 
Bugbane,  117. 
Bull,  Ephraim,  159. 
Bullfrog,  298,  480. 
Bumblebees,  242,  486. 
Buprestis  divaricata,  193. 
Burbank,  Luther,  159. 

plum,  1 60. 
Burdock,  479. 
Bur  marigold,  483. 
Burnham,  Wm.  H.,  23. 
Burroughs,  John,  302,  309,  324. 
Butter  and  eggs,  489. 
Buttercup,  479. 


500 


NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 


Butterflies  and  moths,  260. 
Butterflies,  table  of,  264-273. 
Butternut,  485. 
Buttonbush,  487. 

Cabbage  butterfly,  225,  262,  266. 

Plusia,  225. 

worm  and  parasites,  61,  488. 
Caddis  flies,  258,  482. 
Caeoma  nitens,  465. 
Cajeput,  oil  of,  82. 
Calico  bush,  1 14. 
California  poison  sumac,  1 10. 
Calliopsis,  481. 

Calliphora  crythrocephala,  63. 
Calosoma  calidum,  256. 

scrutator,  255. 
Canary,  349. 
Cankerworms,  196,  484. 
Caper  spurge,  115,  1 16. 
Carbon  bisulphide,  74. 
Cardinal  flower,  493. 
Care  of  young  birds,  354~357- 
Carlyle,  144. 
Carnation,  493. 
Carniolan  bee,  239,  241. 
Carpenter  ant,  416. 
Carpet  beetle,  75-78,  76,  78,  484. 

beetle,  black,  78. 

beetle,  remedies,  77. 
Carpocapsa  pomonella,  181,  182. 
Cashes,  1 10. 
Cassandra,  493. 
Cat,  the,  41-43.  342,  349-  4^0. 

destruction  of  birds  by,  312. 
Catalogue  of  fruits,  150,  152. 
Catbird,  323,  342,  349,  484. 
Caterpillars,  49,  265-273,  421. 
Catopsilia  eubule,  266. 
Cecidomyia  destructor,  226. 


Cecropia,  47,  48,  49,  259,  260,  272, 

478. 

Cedar  bird,  319,  342,  349,  482. 
Cedars,  487. 
Celandine,  489. 
Centaurea,    Emperor   William,    93 

485- 

Centipede,  423. 
Chalcis  fly,  251. 
Chapman,  Frank  C.,  335. 

John,  158,  159. 
Chebec,  482. 
Checkerberry,  487. 
Checkered  cabbage  butterfly,  266. 

skipper,  270. 
Cherries,  157,  i8c,  489. 
Cherry  aphid,  211,  212. 
Cherry  twigs,  160,  162. 
Chesnut,  V.  K.,  106. 
Chestnut,  479. 
Chestnut-sided  warbler,  492. 
Chewink,  486. 

Chickadee,  334,  334,  342,  349,  478. 
Chickweed,  483. 
Chicory,  491. 
Children's  bane,  in. 
Chimney  swift,  338,  482. 
Chinch  bug,  226. 
Chipmunk,  408,  482. 
Chipping  sparrow,  478. 
Chippy  tamed  to  feed  from  a  child's 

hand,  351. 

Chlorippe  clyton,  266. 
Chloroform  for  killing  insects,  52. 
Chokecherry,  491. 
Cholera,  472. 

Chorophilus  triseriatus,  300. 
Chrysalis,  48,  49. 
Chrysobothris  femorata,  192. 
Chrysophanus  epixanthe,  268. 


INDEX 


501 


Cicindelidas,  256. 

Cicuta  maculata,  in,  112. 

vagans,  117. 

Cimex  lectularius,  82,  82. 
Cinquefoil,  483. 
Clam,  432,  486. 

Clapp,  Henry  Lincoln,  school  gar- 
dens, 132,  133. 
Clavarias,  448. 
Cleanliness,  471. 
Clematis,  489. 
Clethra,  491. 
Climbing  cutworms,  199. 
Clisiocampa  Americana,  195. 

disstria,  196. 
Clothes  moth,  remedies,  73-75. 

moth,  southern,  72,  72. 

moths,  71-75,  71,  482. 
Cloudless  sulphur,  266. 
Clover,  495. 
Cobweb  skipper,  270. 
Coccus  cacti,  216. 
Cochineal  insect,  216. 
Cockroaches,  84,  85. 
Codling  moth,  181-187,  182,  484. 
Cohosh,  493. 
Coleridge,  287. 
Colias  eurytheme,  266. 

philodice,  266. 
Colorado  potato  beetle,  222. 
Columbine,  487. 
Common  frog,  297. 
Competitive  rearing  of  flowers,  94- 

101,  98. 

Comstock,  61,  71. 
Cone  flower,  481. 
Conium  maculatum,  no,  no. 
Conorhinus  sanguisuga,  83,  83. 
Conotrachelus  crataegi,  204. 

nenuphar,  204. 


Contagious  diseases,  471,  474. 
Contrast  in  housekeeping,  362. 
Coprinus,  452. 
Coral  hairstreak,  268. 

mushrooms,  448,  448. 
Corbin  preserve,  9,  16. 
Corn  cockle,  113,  113,  485. 

louse  ant,  417. 

root  aphid,  214. 

worm,  225,  490. 
Cottony  cushion  scale,  218. 
Cowbane,  1 11. 
Cowbird,  484. 
Cow  elk,  415. 
Cragin,  Belle  S.,  61. 
Craponius  insequalis,  204. 
Creative  effort  for  good,  30. 
Cricket  frog,  300,  492. 
Crickets,  201,  480. 
Crioceris  asparagi,  222. 
Crossbills,  488. 
Cross-pollination,  46,  229. 
Crotalaria  sagittalis,  117. 
Croton  bug,  85,  85. 
Crow,  323,  478. 

poison,  117. 

Cuckoo,  323,  342,  348,  490. 
Culex,  70,  70. 
Cultivation  of  plants,  10. 
Cultures  of  bacteria,  458. 
Cup  fungi,  448. 
Curculios,  204,  204,  486. 
Currant,  493. 

borer,  191. 

worm,  223,  492. 
Cutworms,  174,  198,  199,  490. 

climbing,  200,  490. 
Cyanide  bottle,  51,  52. 
Cyprian  bee,  240,  241. 


502 


NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 


Dace,  480. 

Daisy  fleabane,  489. 

Damsel  flies,  257,  482. 

Dandelion,  479. 

Darapsa  myron,  208. 

Dark  fritillary,  266. 

Darwin,  on  earthworms,  424,  426. 

Datana  ministra,  224. 

Datura,  114. 

stramonium,  115. 

tatula,  115. 

Deadly  amanita,  444,  446,  450. 
Death  of  man,  in. 
Death-cup    mushrooms,     117,    444, 

446,  450. 

Debis  portlandia,  266. 
Definition  of  nature  study,  i. 
Delphinium  menziesii,  117. 

tricorne,  116,  117. 
Desmia  maculalis,  207. 
Devil's  apple,  115. 

bite,  117. 

Dewey,  Lyster  H.,  119. 
Diabrotica  vittata,  222. 
Dickinson,  Emily,  307,  340,  347. 
Diemyctylus  viridescens,  301. 
Diphtheria,  471. 
Discomycetes,  448. 
Divaricated  buprestis,  193. 
Dodder,  440,  495. 
Dog,  the,  37,  478. 
Dogbane,  489. 
Dogwood,  109. 
Domestication  of  animals,  3,  293. 

of  birds,  327. 

of  toads,  293. 
Downy  mildew,  464. 

woodpecker,  323,  480. 
Dragon  flies,  257,  482. 
Dreamy  dusky-wing,  270. 


Duckretter,  1 17. 
Dull-eyed  satyr,  266. 
Dust  in  schoolroom,  476,  476. 
Dwarf  larkspur,  116,  117. 
laurel,  1 1 5. 

Eagles,  494. 

Early  hairstreak,  268. 

rue,  489. 

Earthworms,  424,  427,  488. 
Eave  swallow,  342. 
Economic  values   of   nature  study, 

17-20. 

Ectobia  Germanica,  85,  85. 
Educational  values  of  nature  study, 

22-28. 

Edward's  hairstreak,  268. 
Eels,  492. 
Eggs  of  Antiopa  butterfly,  47. 

of  codling  moth,  182,  184. 

of  malarial  mosquito,  68. 
Egleston,  N.  H.,  391. 
Elecampane,  487. 
Elementary  botany,  10,  102. 

zoology,  5. 
Elk,  herd  of,  5. 

Elk  killed  by  grubs  in  the  head,  417. 
Elm-leaf  beetle,  223,  480. 
Elms,  481. 

Emerson,  104,  305,  309,  335. 
Enemies  of  San  Jose  scale,  221. 
English  sparrow,  313-316,  323. 
Epargyreus  tityrus,  270. 
Epidemics,  471. 
Eriocampa  cerasi,  224. 
Erynnis  attalus,  270. 

leonardus,  270. 

meta,  270. 

sassacus,  270. 
Esopus  apple  tree,  160. 


INDEX 


503 


Ethical  and  social  values  of  nature 
study,  28-30. 

influence  of  school  garden,  136. 
Euchloe  genutia,  266. 
Eudemis  botrana,  207. 
Euphorbia  bathyris,  115,  116. 

marginata,  117. 
Euptoieta  claudia,  266. 
Evening  primrose,  487. 
Example  of  tasteful  planting,  138. 
Exoascus  deformans,  464. 
Extermination  of  plants,  105. 

of  mosquitoes,  67. 

of  species,  8,  9. 

Factory  covered  with  woodbine,  389. 

Fall  webworm,  198,  484. 

False  Solomon's  seal,  483. 

Feeding  a  bat,  406. 

Fernald,  Professor,  222. 

Fernow,  E.  B.,  391. 

Ferns,  103,  434,  435'  479>  481,  4^7- 

school  collection  of,  436. 
Fescue  grass,  491. 
Fir,  495. 
Fishes,  413. 
Fiske,  John,  14,  17. 
Five-spotted  sphinx,  209. 
Flat-headed  apple-tree  borer,  192. 
Flea,  78-81,  80,  478. 

trap,  81. 

Flicker,  323,  484. 
Flies,  62-64,  63,  480. 
Flower  calendar,  104. 

garden,  141. 
Flowers   for    competitive   planting, 

96-97. 

Foam  flower,  489. 
Food  chart  of  common  birds,  323. 
Forbes,  Professor,  214. 


Forest,  influence  on  water  supply, 
382-388,  495. 

fires,  390. 

resources,  390,  495. 

tent  caterpillars,  196. 
Fossil  species,  8. 
Foul  brood,  470,  487,  493. 
Fowls,  484. 
Fox,  494. 

sparrow,  488. 
Foxglove,  493. 
France,  C.  J.,  127. 
Francis,  Dr.  George,  456. 
Fringed  gentians,  106. 

polygala,  483. 
Fritillaries,  464,  466,  494. 
Froebel,  22,  25,  26, 129,  130, 131, 143 
Frog  with  six  legs,  400. 
Fruit  culture,  148-153. 

exhibitions  of,  149. 

garden,  trees  for,  134. 

spurs  of  pear,  163. 
Fruits,  best  varieties  of,  152. 

improvement  of  varieties,  156- 

159- 

Fungi,  103,  439. 
Fusicladium  dendriticum,  465. 

Garden  fruits,  147-153. 

spurge,  1 1 6. 
Gartered    plume    moth    of    grape, 

205,  206. 
Gentians,  493. 
German  bee,  239,  241. 

roach,  85,  85. 
Giant  swallowtail,  268. 
Gibson,  Hamilton,  278,  421. 
Goethe,  121. 

Golden-crowned  kinglet,  490. 
Golden-rod,  479. 


504 


NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 


Goldfinch,  349,  480. 

Goldfish,  478. 

Gold  thread,  493. 

Goodrich,  C.  L.,  381. 

Good  Samaritans,  346. 

Gooseberry,  493. 

Gopher  plant,  116. 

Crackles,  323,  349,  490. 

Grafting    an    apple    tree,    169-174, 

170,  171,  172. 
Grafting  wax,  170. 
Grain  smuts,  465,  491. 
Grape  curculio,  204. 

mildews,  491. 

phylloxera,  210,  214. 

shoots,  205. 
Grape-berry  moth,  207. 
Grape-cane  borer,  193. 
Grape-leaf  folder,  206,  207. 
Grapes,  481,  491. 
Grapevine  cuttings,  164,  165. 

flea  beetle,  223. 

how  to  rear,  164. 

pruning  of,  167. 

root  borer,  191. 

sphinx,  208. 

transplanting,  166. 
Grass  family,  495. 
Grasshoppers,  200,  480. 

as  bird  food,  201,  323,  358,  480. 
Gray  squirrel,  409. 
Great  laurel,  117. 
Grebes,  494. 
Green  brier,  493. 
Greene,  Samuel  B.,  369,  382. 
Green  frog,  298,  484. 

swallowtail,  268. 
Grippe,  471. 

Grosbeak,  323,  342,  349,  488. 
Groundnut,  493. 


Gulls,  494. 
Gypsy  moth,  490. 

Hackberry,  487. 

Hair  worms,  428,  428. 

Hairy  woodpecker,  323,  488. 

Haltica  chalybea,  223. 

Hard  maples,  483. 

Harvester  caterpillar,  209. 

Harvey,  F.  L.,  204. 

Hawk  moths,  209. 

Hawks,  494. 

Hay  infusion,  468. 

Head  louse,  81-82,  480. 

Hedgehog  mushrooms,  454,  454. 

Helenium  autumnale,  117. 

Heleothis  armigera,  225. 

Hemlock,  no. 

Henry's  hairstreak,  268. 

Hepatica,  483. 

Herb  bennet,  1 10. 

robert,  493. 
Hermit  thrush,  492. 
Herons,  494. 
Hesperia  centaureae,  270. 
Hessian  fly,  226. 
Hickory,  483. 
High  laurel,  1 14. 
Hoary-edge,  270. 
Home,  a,  11. 

and  school  gardens,  121. 
Honeybee,  228,  229,  486,  494. 
Honeydew,  210. 
Hop  aphid,  210. 
Hop  hairstreak,  268. 
Horace's  dusky- wing,  270. 
Hornaday,  Wm.  T.,  310. 
Hornbeam,  495. 
Horse,  the,  38-41,  39,  486. 
Horse  chestnut,  114,  483. 


INDEX 


505 


House  ants,  89,  488. 

wren,  223,  342,  348,  488. 
Household  insects,  89,  490. 
Howard,  L.  O.,  69,  89. 
Humming  bird,  349,  352,  482. 
Humming  bird's  nest,  341. 
Humus,  and  growth  of  plants,  381. 
Huxley,  21,  28. 
Hyla  pickeringii,  300,  492. 
Hyla  versicolor,  299,  478. 
Hypha,  459. 
Hyphantria  textor,  198. 

Icerya  purchasi,  218. 

Ichneumon  flies,2 1 0,246,248,249,490. 

Imperial  moth,  482. 

Indian  pipe,  440,  484. 

poke,  117. 

skipper,  270. 

uncus,  117. 
Indigo  bunting,  486. 
Ink  cap,  452. 
Insect,  how  to  define,  422. 

collection,  60. 

net,  50,  51. 
Insects,  destructiveness  of,  46. 

method  of  spreading,  55. 

methods  of  controlling,  2:6. 

mounting  of,  52-61,  53. 

number  of  species,  7. 
Intelligent  cleanliness,  471. 
Invitation  to  the  birds,  304. 
lo  moth,  478. 
Iris,  481. 

Isabella  tiger  caterpillar,  478. 
Italian  bee,  239,  241. 
Itch  weed,  1 17. 
Ivy,  114. 

bush,  1 14. 

wood,  114. 


Jack-in-the-pulpit,  485. 
Jackman,  33. 
James,  Wm.,  329. 
Jamestown  lily,  116. 

weed,  115. 
Jeffries,  336. 
Jewelweed,  487. 
Jimson  weed,  114,  115,  491. 
Junco,  482. 
June  beetles,  480. 
Juniper,  487. 
Junonia  coenia,  268. 
Juvenal's  dusky-wing,  270. 

Kalmia,  114. 

angustifolia,  115. 

latifolia,  114. 
Kermes,  218. 
Kingbird,  323,  342,  483. 
Kingfisher,  486. 
Kirkland,  A.  H.,  288. 
Kissing  bug,  84. 
Kline,    Linus    W.,    psychology    of 

ownership,  127. 
Koebele,  observations  of  bats,  187. 

Lactarius,  452. 

Lady  beetles,  254,  254,  486. 

Lady's  slippers,  485. 

Lambkill,  1 1 5,  483. 

Lamb  laurel,  115. 

Landscape  gardening,  136. 

Lange,  D.,  312,  345. 

Larch,  487. 

Larkspur,  116,  117,  495. 

Larva,  48. 

Laurel,  114.  9 

Layers,  propagation  by,  165. 

Least  copper,  268. 

Lecaniums,  216,  218. 


506 


NATURE    STUDY   AND    LIFE 


Leonard's  skipper,  270. 
Leopard  frog,  297,  482. 
Leucania  unipuncta,  225. 
Leucothoe  catesbsei,  117. 
Libythea  bachmanni,  266. 
Lice,  remedies,  81-82,  480. 
Lichens,  103,  437,  483. 
Light  blue,  266. 
Lily,  92,  495- 
Linden,  493. 
Lion  beetles,  255,  490. 
List  of  animals,  6. 
Little  green  heron,  490. 

silver  spot,  264. 

sulphur,  266. 

tree  frog,  300. 
Liverworts,  103,  437,  481. 
Living  species  of  animals.,  7. 
Lizards,  296,  411. 
Lobelia,  495. 
Locusts,  200,  495. 
Long,  William  J.,  410. 
Long-dash,  270. 
Longfellow,  307,  309. 
Loosestrife,  493. 
Lowell,  91,  322,  334,  365. 
Low  laurel,  115. 
Lucilius'  dusky-wing,  270. 
Luna  moth,  480. 
Lycaena  comyntas,  266. 

pseudargiolus,  266. 
Lycoperdaceae,  448. 

Macrodactylus  subspinosus,  194. 
Magnolia  warbler,  492. 
Making  an  aquarium,  395. 
Mallow,  481. 
Many-eyed  satyr,  266. 
Marks  of  ancient  abuse,  376. 
Markweed,  107. 


Marlatt,  C.  L.,  89. 
Marsh  hawk,  323,  492. 

marigold,  481. 
Martial's  dusky-wing,  270. 
Martin  house,  318. 
Martin,  purple,  337,  342,  486. 
Maryland  yellow  throat,  488. 
Masked  bedbug  hunter,  84. 
Meadow  beauty,  495. 

lark,  323,  349,  482. 

lily,  487. 

mushroom,  451. 
rue,  485. 

Meal  worms  as  bird  food,  359,  360, 
482. 

Mercury,  107. 

Metamorphosis  of  insects,  49. 

Mice,  409,  480. 

Mildews,  462. 

Milkweed,  479. 

butterfly,  264,  478. 

Milkwort,  491. 

Milky  mushrooms,  452. 

Miller,  Olive  Thorne,  338. 

Millipedes  and  centipedes,  423,  424, 
490. 

Mimosa,  483. 

Mink,  410,  490. 

Miracle  of  blossoms,  154. 

Mocking  bird,  328,  349. 

Mocking  bird's  sun  bath,  331. 

Mole  plant,  116. 

Moles,  410,  488. 

Mollusks,  type  forms  of,  7,  429,  430. 

Monilia  fructigena,  463,  487. 

Monomorium  pharaonis,  86,  87. 
minutum,  86,  86. 

Monostegia  rosas,  223,  492. 

Monthly  list  of  publications,  Depart- 
ment of  Agriculture,  89. 


INDEX 


SO/ 


Morels,  448,  448. 

Morgan,  L.  H.,  on  property,  127. 

Mosquito  hawks,  71. 

pupa,  66. 

Mosquitoes,  64-71,  65,  66,  69,  70, 
89,  486. 

and  malaria,  68,  68. 
Mosses,  103,  437,  481. 
Mould  gardens,  458. 
Moulds,  103,  457,  460,  487,  491. 
Mound-building  ant,  416. 
Mountain  laurel,  114,  483. 
Mourning  cloak,  268,  482. 
Mucor  mucedo,  461. 
Mud  puppy,  302. 

wasp,  486. 
Mulberry,  485. 
Mummied  fruits,  463,  464. 
Musca  domestica,  62,  63. 
Museum  pests,  59. 
Mushrooms,  103,  443,  485,  491. 

spore  prints  of,  446,  446. 
Muskrat,  410,  486. 

weed,  in. 
Musquash  root,  in. 
Mustard,  495. 
Mycelium,  445,  459. 
Myrtle  warbler,  490. 
Mysus  cerasi,  211,  212. 

persicae,  210. 
Mytilaspis  pomorum,  216,  217. 

Narrow-leaf  laurel,  115. 
Nash,  Lewis  P.,  385,  389. 
Nasturtium,  479. 
Nasturtiums  and  mimosas,  90. 
Nature-study  property  of  children, 

139.  154- 

Nectarines,  148,  152,  180,  487. 
Necturus  maculatus,  303. 


Nematodes,  428,  429. 
Nematus  ventricosus,  223. 
Neonympha  eurytus,  266. 
Newman,  S.  M.,  91. 
Newts,  301,  478. 
Night  hawk,  338,  482. 
Nightshade,  493. 
Nitrates,  442. 
Northern  dusky-wing,  270. 

frog,  298. 

shrike,  494. 
Nucleus  beehive,  233. 
Nut  culture,  377. 
Nuthatches,  349. 
Nuts,  368. 
Nymph,  49. 

Oaks,  481. 

Observation  beehive,  sectional  plan 

of,  238. 

(Edemasia  concenna,  224. 
Olive  hairstreak,  268. 
Orange  rust,  465,  491. 

sulphur,  266. 

tip,  266. 

Orb  weaver,  421. 
Oregon  water  hemlock,  117. 
Organized  bird  protection,  344. 
Orgyia  leucostigma,  198. 
Oriental  roach,  85. 
Oriole,  323,  342,  349,  352,  480. 
Orphans'  home  for  nestlings,  353. 
Osborn,  H.,  89. 
Otter,  410,  490. 
Ovenbird,  490. 
Owlet  moths,  198. 
Owls,  494. 
Oxeye  daisy,  479. 
Oxyptilus  periselidactylus,  206. 
Oyster-shell  scale  insect,  216,  217. 


508 


NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 


Painted  beauty,  266,  492. 

Paleacrita  vernata,  196. 

Pale  Corydalis,  493. 

Palmer,  Alice  Freeman,  23,  130. 

Pandorus  sphinx,  208. 

Paper  wasp,  244,  486. 

Papilio  asterias,  268. 

cresphontes,  268. 

philenor,  268. 

troilus,  268. 

turnus,  266,  494. 
Paradise  for  children,  146. 
Parsley,  495. 
Partridge,  484. 
Peach,  479,  489. 
Peach-leaf  curl,  464. 
Peach  tree,  how  to  raise,  174,  174. 

twigs,  164. 

yellows,  464. 
Peach-tree  aphid,  210. 

borer,    eggs,    larva,   pupa,    and 
cocoons,    187-191,    186,    188, 
189,  190. 
Pear  blight,  469,  493. 

slug,  492. 

twigs,  163. 
Pearly  eye,  266. 
Pear-tree  borer,  191. 

slug,  224. 
Peckham,  G.  W.  and  Elizabeth  G., 

243- 

Pediculus  capitis,  81. 
Pepper  and  salt  skipper,  270. 
Perch,  486. 
Periplaneta  Americana,  85. 

Australasias,  85. 

orientalis,  85. 
Peronospora  viticola,  464. 
Persius'  dusky-wing,  270. 
Pets,  33-37,  43-44- 


Petunia,  489. 

Philampelus  achemon,  209. 

pandorus,  208. 
Phlegethontius  celeus,  209. 
Phoebe,  342,  482. 
Pholisora  catullus,  270. 
Phorodon  humuli,  211. 
Phosphorescence,  468. 
Phylloxera  vastatrix,  210,  214,  492. 
Physis  indigenella,  206. 
Phytolacca  decandra,  in. 
Pickerel,  482. 

frog,  298. 

Pickering's  tree  frog,  300,  492. 
Pieris  mariana,  117. 

napi,  262,  266. 

protodice,  262,  266. 

rapas,  225,  262,  266. 
Pigeons,  488. 

taming  the,  43. 
Pike,  482. 
Pikry,  107. 
Pimpernel,  495. 
Pimpla  inquisitor,  248. 
Pine  grosbeak,  494. 

sap,  440. 

siskin,  494. 
Pines,  489. 
Pipsissewa,  495. 
Pitcher  plant,  491. 
Plant  breeding,  158-160. 

lice,  210,  486. 

parasitized,  250. 
Planter  and  owner  of  peach  trees 

126. 

Plants,  list  of  all  known,  103. 
Plowrightia  morbosa,  462. 
Plum,  204,  487. 

curculio,  204,  204. 
Plume  moth,  205. 


INDEX 


509 


Plums  destroyed  by  brown  rot,  464. 
Plusia  brassicae,  225. 
Poison  ash,  109. 

elder,  109. 

grain  for  English  sparrows,  315. 

hemlock,  no,  no,  489. 

ivy,  107-109,  108,  no,  114,  479. 

laurel,  114. 

oak,  107. 

root,  no. 

snakeweed,  no. 

sumac,  109,  109,  481. 

sumac,  Californian,  no. 
Poisonous  plants,  106-118. 
Pokeroot,  117. 
Pokeweed,  in,  495. 
Polyphemus,  480. 
Polypori,  453,  453. 
Poplars,  491. 
Porcupine,  492. 
Pore-bearing  mushrooms,  452. 
Portrait  of  a  young  bluebird,  349. 
Potassium  cyanide,  51. 
Potato  beetle,  222,  480. 
Pout,  480. 

Primitive  German  home,  3. 
Prionus  imbricornis,  193. 

laticollis,  192. 

tile-horned,  193. 
Promethea,  272,  478. 

just  emerged,  46. 
Propagation  of  fruits,  methods  of, 

180. 

Property  of  children,  125. 
Proteans,  302. 
Protective  coloration,  288. 
Proteid  foods,  circle  of,  441,  442. 
Prothallium,  437. 
Pruning  a  grapevine,  167. 
Prunus  serotina,  113. 


Psychology  of  ownership,  127,  128. 
Puffballs,  444,  448,  448. 
Pulex  irritans,  79-81. 

serraticeps,  79-81,  Bo- 
Pulse  family,  495. 
Pupa,  48. 
Purple  avens,  485. 

finch,  486. 

Gerardia,  489. 

larkspur,  117. 

martin,  486. 
Pyrameis  atalanta,  268. 

cardui,  266. 

huntera,  266. 

Pyrethrum  powder,  8r,  83. 
Pyrola,  495. 
Pyrus  baccata,  158. 

malus,  156,  158. 

Quail,  490. 
Quince,  495. 

curculios,  204,  486. 

Rabbit,  482. 

Ragwort,  491. 

Railroad  worm,  202. 

Rain     crow     (cuckoo),     323,     342, 

348. 
Rana  catesbiana,  298. 

clamata,  298. 

palustris,  298. 

septentrionalis,  298. 

sylvatica,  299. 

virescens,  297. 
Raspberry,  491. 

rust,  491. 

Rats  and  mice,  409,  480. 
Rat-tailed  maggot,  252. 
Rattlebox,  117. 
Reaumur,  214. 


5io 


NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 


Rearing  a  peach  tree,  174-179,  126, 

174.  *75>  i76»  177.  178- 
Red  admiral,  268,  484. 

ant,  86,  87. 

backed  salamander,  302,  488. 

breasted  nuthatch,  484. 

buckeye,  114. 

cherry,  491. 

eyed  vireo,  486. 

headed  woodpecker,  492. 

humped  caterpillar,  224,  224. 

shouldered  hawk,  323. 

squirrel,  408. 

triton,  302,  486. 

winged  blackbird,  323,  484. 
Redstart,  484. 
Reduvius  personatus,  84. 
Regal  moth,  486. 

Religious  values  of  nature  study,  30. 
Research,  spirit  of,  14.        • 
Rhododendron  maximum,  117. 
Rhodora,  495. 
Rhus  diversiloba,  no. 

radicans,  107. 

vernix,  109,  109. 
Riley,  James  Whitcomb,  139. 

Professor,  46. 
Roaches,  84,  84,  85,  85. 
Roadside  flowers,  105. 

skipper,  270. 
Robin,  342,  348,  478. 
Robin's  nest  in  the  cherry  tree,  308, 

339- 

plantain,  481. 

rate  of  increase,  308. 
Roosevelt,  Theodore,  on  bird  pro- 
tection, 344. 
Rose,  495. 

beetle,  194,  482. 

breasted  grosbeak,  488. 


Rose  chafer,  194. 

mildew,  465,  489. 

slug,  223,  492. 
Ruby-crowned  kinglet,  490. 
Ruskin,  17,  22,  477. 
Russulas,  452. 

St.  John's-wort,  491. 

Salamanders,  296,  301. 

Salmon,  490. 

Sand  spurry,  489. 

San  Jose  scale,  219-222,  219,  494. 

Sanninoidea  exitiosa,  187. 

Saperda  Candida,  191. 

Sapsucker,  494. 

Sarsaparilla,  487. 

Sassafras,  495. 

Satyrodes  canthus,  266. 

Satyrus  alope,  266. 

Saunders,  William,  168,  173,  195. 

Saxifrage,  485. 

Scale  insects,  215-222,  494. 

Scaphiopus  holbrookii,  299,  494. 

Scarlet  tanager,  480. 

Scene  on   K  Street,  Dayton,  Ohio, 

1 20. 

Schizoneura  lanigera,  210,  215. 
School  and  contagious  diseases  of 
children,  474. 

aquarium,  392. 

beehive,  234,  235. 

gardens,  132,  133,  135. 
Seedling  trees,  366. 
Seeds  of  fruits,  155-157. 
Selandria  cerasi,  244,  399. 
Shad  bush,  485. 
Shaggy  mane,  452. 
Shakespeare,  338. 
Shaler,  293. 
Sheep  laurel,  114,  115. 


INDEX 


Sheep  poison,  115. 

Shelley,  327. 

Shelley's  prophecy  fulfilled,  326. 

Shiners,  478. 

Shrews,  410,  488. 

Silver-spotted  skipper,  270. 

Skunk,  410,  494. 

Slave  ant,  417. 

maker  ant,  417. 
Sleepy  dusky-wing,  270. 
Slingerland,  M.   V.,   187,   188,  189, 

190,  191,  199,  200. 
Slugs,  276,  429,  486. 
Small  laurel,  114,  115. 
Smith,  Herbert  E.,  473. 
Snakes,  412,  478. 
Snake's-head,  487. 
Snakeweed,  in. 
Sneezeweed,  117. 
Snout  beetles,  204. 

butterfly,  266. 
Snow  bunting,  480. 

on  the  mountain,  115,  117. 
Soft  maple,  479. 
Soil,  436. 

Soils,  apparatus  for  testing  retention 
of  water  by,  382. 

study  of,  379-388. 
Solanum  dulcamara,  117. 

nigrum,  117. 
Solitary  sandpiper,  492. 

vireo,  492. 
Solomon's  seal,  483. 
Song  sparrow,  342,  349,  480. 
Sooty  wing,  270. 
Sori,  436. 

Sow  bugs,  423,  424. 
Spadefoot  frog,  299,  494. 
Sparrow  hawk,  486. 
Speckled  alder,  489. 


Spelerpes  ruber,  302. 

Sphaerotheca  pannosa,  465. 

Sphinxes,  207,  490. 

Spicebush,  495. 

Spider,  not  an  insect,  422. 

Spiders,  lessons  with,  419,  420,  484. 

Spoonwood,  114. 

Spore  prints,  446,  446. 

Spores,  103,  436. 

Spotted  cowbane,  in. 

parsley,  no. 

salamander,  302,  484. 
Spray  Calendar,  227. 
Spreading  of  insects,  55-61. 
Spring  beauty,  493. 

cankerworm,  196. 
Springwort,  116. 
Spruces,  493. 
Spurge,  487. 
Squash  bug,  225,  488. 
Squirrels,  407,  482. 
Stable  fly,  63. 
Staggerbush,  117. 
Stagger  weed,  117. 
Star  grass,  491. 
State  Experiment  Station,  156,  174, 

204. 

Stemless  loco  weed,  117. 
Stickleback,  494. 
Stinkhorn  mushroom,  449,  449. 
Stink  weed,  no,  114,  116. 
Stinkwort,  116. 
Stomoxys  calcitrans,  63. 
Stone,  George  E.,  103,  429. 
Stramonium,  115. 
Stratt,  W.  M.,  32. 
Strawberry,  152,  155,  157,  483. 

crown  borer,  193. 

insects,  482. 

root  borer,  193. 


512 


NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 


Striped  cucumber  beetle,  222. 

hairstreak,  268. 
Strychnine    for    use    with    English 

sparrows,  315. 
Subjugation  of  animals,  2. 
Suckers,  484. 

Sudworth,  George  B.,  377,  391. 
Sundew,  485. 
Sunfish,  478. 

Swallows,  323,  335,  337,  342. 
Swallowtail,  266,  494. 
Swamp  hellebore,  117. 

sumac,  109. 

Sweet  vernal  grass,  491. 
Swingle,  Walter  T.,  465. 
Sycamore,  489. 
Symbiotic  bacteria,  470. 
Syrphus  flies,  251,  252. 

Tabb,  John  B.,  340. 
Table  of  best  fruits,  152. 

for    methods    of    propagating 

fruits,  1 80. 

Tachina  flies,  253,  253. 
Tailed  blue,  266. 
Taming  a  chipmunk,  408. 

a  wood  turtle,  410. 
Tanager,  323,  342,  480. 
Tansy,  481. 
Tasteful  planting,  138. 
Tea  rose,  495. 
Tenebrio  molitor,  359. 
Tenement  house,  a,  13. 

houses  made  beautiful,  385. 
Tent  caterpillars,  195,  484. 
Ten-weeks  stock,  491. 
Terias  lisa,  266. 
Terns,  494. 

Tetramorium  coespitum,  86. 
Thalessa  atrata,  247,  248. 


Thanaos  brizo,  270. 

horatius,  270. 

icelus,  270. 

juvenalis,  270. 

lucilius,  270. 

martialis,  270. 

persius,  270. 

Thanks  for  bearing  chestnuts,  375. 
Thaxter,  Celia,  99,  276,  292,  336. 
Thecla  acadica,  268. 

augustus,  268. 

calanus,  268. 

damon,  268. 

edwardsi,  268. 

henrici,  268. 

irus,  268. 

laeta,  268. 

liparops,  268. 

melinus,  268. 

niphon,  268. 

titus,  268. 

Thistle  butterfly,  266. 
Thoreau,  Henry  D.,  309. 
Thorn  apple,  1 1 5. 
Thoroughwort,  485. 
Thorybes  pylades,  270. 
Three-leaved  ivy,  107. 
Thrushes,  349. 
Thunderwood,  109. 
Thymelicus  aetna,  270. 

brettus,  270. 

mystic,  270. 
Tiger  beetles,  256,  488. 

swallowtail,  266,  494. 
Timothy  grass,  491. 
Tinea  pellionella,  71,  72. 
Tineola  biselliella,  72,  72. 
Toad,  274,  478,  490. 

enemies  of,  284. 

feeding,  276. 


INDEX 


513 


Toad,  life  story  of,  278,  490. 

protective  color  of,  287,  288. 

song  of,  278. 
Toads,  a  pair  of,  275. 

aquaria  for  rearing,  282. 
Toad's  eggs,  279,  280,  281. 
Toadstools,  443. 
Tomato  worm.,  209. 
Treat,  Mary,  201. 
Tree  frog,*295,  "299,  478. 

guards,  374. . 

roots,  retention  of  soil  by,  380. 

seeds,  how  to  save  and  plant, 

367-373- 

spafrow,  490. 

swallow,  342,  480. 
Treeless  street,  371. 
Trees,  care  of,  373. 

dissemination    of ''seeds,    367, 

3*8,  369- 

for  school  gardens,  134. 

of  a_New  England  hill  farm,  378. 
Trembling  mushrooms,  450. 
Tremex  columba,  248. 
Trichophaga  tapetzella,  72,  73. 
Trilliums,  481. 
Trout,  490. 

Trypeta  pomonella,  202. 
Tube-bearing  mushrooms,  452. 
Tulip,  489. 
Tupelo,  493.x 
Turtles,  410,  478. 
Tyloderma  fragariae,  193. 
Typhoid   fever,  epidemics   of,  472, 
473-- 

Upsala  Street  School,  bird  census, 

321. 

school  garden,  135. 
Urodela,  301. 


Van  Dyke,  Henry,  101,  105. 
Vanessa  antiopa,  268. 
Variegated  fritillary,  266. 
Vedalia,  218. 
Veery,  488. 

Vegetable  garden,  145. 
Veratrum  viride,  117. 
Vesper  sparrow,  484. 
Viburnum,  493. 
Vireo  and  nest,  322. 
Vireos,  323,  342,  348,  352. 
Virginia  deer,  15. 
Volcanic  skipper,  270. 

Walking  sticks,  53. 

Warblers,  348. 

Warbling  vireo,  488. 

Watching  a  brown  snake  shed  its 

skin,  404. 
Water  bug,  85-86,  85,  482. 

dog,  303. 

hemlock,  II  i,  112. 

thrush,  492. 
Weasels,  410,  492. 
Weed,  C.  M.,  61. 
Weeds,  118,491. 
Whip-poor-will,  482. 
Whirlabout,  270. 
White  admiral,  268. 

breasted  nuthatch,  484. 

breasted  swallow,  342,  480. 

crowned  sparrow,  490. 

faced  hornet,  244. 

hellebore,  117. 

man's  plant,  116. 

marked  tussock  moth,  198,  484. 

throated  sparrow,  488. 
White,  Gilbert,  338. 
Wicky,  114,  115. 
Wild  carrot,  483. 


NATURE    STUDY    AND    LIFE 


Wild  cherry,  113. 

flower  garden,  132. 

geranium,  481. 

sunflower,  495. 
Willow  herb,  489. 
Willows,  487. 

Winchell  grape,  layer  of,  166. 
Wode-whistle,  no. 
Wolfsbane,  117. 
Wolf's  milk,  n  6. 
Woodchuck,  410,  490. 
Wood  frog,  299,  488. 

laurel,  114. 

nymphs,  266,  494. 

thrush,  323,  342,  345,  349,  490. 
Woodland  spring,  434. 


Woodpecker,  323,  349. 

Wood  pewee,  488. 

Woolly  aphids  of  apple,  215. 

loco  weed,  1 1 7. 
Wordsworth,  335,  363. 
Worms,  defined,  421. 
Wrens,  348,  488. 

Yarrow,  481. 

Yeara,  1 10. 

Yeast,  465,  465,  487. 

Yellow-billed  cuckoo,  489. 

breasted  chat,  492. 

necked    apple-tree     caterpillar, 
224. 

throated  vireo,  490. 


VSSYES 

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